


Hunted

by LostNTheShadows



Series: Changing Light [1]
Category: Lost Boys (1987), Lost Boys (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Horror, Romance, Thriller, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-08-10
Updated: 2014-07-08
Packaged: 2018-01-21 08:27:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 40,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1544276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostNTheShadows/pseuds/LostNTheShadows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Detta Matise works for a paper in New York City and has one hell of a crappy editor.  When she catches him in one too many compromising positions, he bribes her to hightail it out of the city - and straight across the country working for the San Francisco office.  She ends up settling in Santa Carla, just an hour south of the city, and adds some part-time advertising work to her schedule for a local store called Max's Video.  It isn't long before the fresh meat is getting harassed by the punk locals and Detta, despite all her New York smarts, can't help but get taken in by one of them, and repulsed by another.  It isn't until someone starts threatening her life when she realizes just how deep her fear of one, or maybe all, of the Lost Boys should go.  In a do or die situation, who is willing to protect her and who is out to kill her?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Greasy Diamond

**Author's Note:**

> Any characters/plots/histories/circumstances, etc. found within the movie/novelization/script or otherwise stated for the movie The Lost Boys isn’t mine. Duh. Any characters/plots/histories/circumstances, etc. not found within the movie/novelization/script or otherwise stated for the movie The Lost Boys is mine. So no touchy. Infringement is not, and will never be, intended.

“Now, if you could just sign here, Miss Matise, the house is yours.”

The gentleman sitting on the other side of the desk from her smiled his slime-dripping smile as he offered her a pen.

“I have one. Thanks,” she said, wiggling the pen at him.

Detta had met some sleazy people in her life but this real estate broker was the tops. If his V05 hair and faux designer suits weren’t enough, his trying-to-be-intellectual-but-only-sounding-condescending tone was it. She just wanted to buy a house. Nothing extravagant but something nice. She wished she could say this move had been a long time coming but frankly, she just wasn’t old enough for that. It was a transfer, pure and simple. Her editor wanted her working closer with the San Francisco office. She told him she was freelance and that location didn’t really matter in her field. He called her a rookie, threatened her job and ultimately forced her to move but supplied her with a rather nice bit of compensation for her troubles.

Or rather, compensation meant to keep her mouth shut. She had walked in on some rather unsavory business being conducted by her editor and one of his many temporary secretaries. Funny how little a piece of gold on a finger actually means. He panicked and, given her access and ability to report, he feared that she would let his secret out. As if it weren’t a common knowledge secret anyway but now she had proof. He felt she taunted him every time she looked at him. This is also the same man that convinced himself that the janitors were trying to break into his desk when they cleaned. While he was in the office. Sitting at his desk. With the keys in his hands. And he couldn’t fire her. She was one of the smarter Tits that would sue. He knew that. And yes. Tits. When referencing women to his other testosterone counterparts, they didn’t have names. Just Tits. Not Toots. Tits. Occasionally he would slip and actually call someone that to her face but he would chuckle it off. Few of the women in her office had IQs higher than toasters but not many so more often than not they would look a little confused and giggle.

But not Detta. She was a smart blonde. Much to her editor’s disbelief. She was convinced that was why he was never that fond of her, never gave her perks like longer lunches, days off, smoke breaks. When she was in the office, she sat huddled at her desk shoved into a corner, stacked high with old newspapers and magazines, no extra light and a typewriter as ancient as Alexandria. She didn’t conform so neither did he.

And now he was shunting her out. He didn’t even want her in the same city, nor on the same coast. If she wanted to keep her job she needed to leave everything behind. It paid too well not to. So she accepted her transfer, and generous compensation, and relocated to California. She wished she could have had some time to look for a place but he nearly dropkicked her onto the plane and popped the champagne cork before she even departed. She packed what she could into the luggage limits for the flight and had everything else shipped. Living in New York, she didn’t have a need for a car but here, she didn’t know how close she could get to the office and didn’t know how often she needed to be in. That could prove problematic.

Her editor, being the generous man that he is, stuffed her and all of her belongings into a hotel in San Jose on the company’s dollar until she found something, which had “better be quick.” If talk was cheap then silence was expensive. But Detta didn’t ask for it so she didn’t care. If he wanted to put forth such funds, that was his problem. So, considering the amount of her transfer bonus that she received, she decided to buy something instead of rent. Why not? It would be more cost effective in the end and she could probably even pay up front. That would be a large portion of her check but it wasn’t severance. She was still making money. Maybe she could pick up some side jobs as a supplemental income. She would see.

Detta went to a real estate agent in San Jose and they passed off this sleaze on her. Was he the “charmer” of the office? Did he actually smear Vaseline on his teeth to make them shine? Did the rest of the office think she would fall for his shtick? Did she really come off as a dumb blonde? She didn’t look like a flake; at least she didn’t think so. Stupid stereotypes. Not all blondes are brainless! Regardless, he oozed towards her when he saw her and turned on his “charm” that smelled like fermented Drakkar.

“I’m looking for something around San Francisco that I won’t have to sell my soul to buy.”

He smiled a smile that could repel prostitutes and said, “Let me show you what we have,” and he ushered her to his desk to flip through his picture book of properties.

Unfortunately what he had to offer her didn’t really appeal to her. They were either too far away or so dilapidated cockroaches would turn away in disgust.

“They’re fixer-uppers!” he said with enthusiasm.

Detta only raised an eyebrow. “Do I look like a fixer-upper type person to you, Mr.…?”

“Diamond.” Detta stifled a laugh and covered it with a cough when he mentioned his name. She should have expected it. “No. I guess not then. Looks like paint might frighten you!” Mr. Diamond chuckled. Detta looked aghast. That was funny? He saw her look, dropped his movie star smile and cleared his throat. “Well, all that’s left are these two. One in Monterey, one in Santa Carla.”

Detta rolled her eyes and sighed. She was about to get snotty with him again but bit back her tongue. It wasn’t his fault. He was only working with what she could give him. She took the two pictures that he offered her and looked them over.

“What kind of distance am I look at between these places and San Francisco?”

Mr. Diamond settled himself back into his chair. “Santa Carla is about seventy-five miles from San Fran and Monterey is south of Santa Carla.”

Detta’s eyes widened as she handed the picture of the house in Monterey back. “That one’s just too far. This one’s even too far but it looks like I’m all out of options, huh? It looks nice though.”

It was modest, the house, and, from the picture, looked to be sitting atop a cliff. It looked to be a single storey, maybe with some attic space or even a loft judging by the elevated windows. The house itself was white, brown shutters and door, in good condition, well-kempt yard. Why not?

“Can I take a look at this one?”

“Let me get my keys!” He nearly sang his line and his enthusiasm rose exponentially.

Detta was apprehensive about getting in the car with him but did it nonetheless. The drive from San Jose to Santa Carla wasn’t long, mainly because it was mid-afternoon when they set out. As they got closer to town, Detta began to smell the salt on the air. It was a nice departure from the smell of exhaust off the Hudson. It was ocean air. She’d have to clean her windows more often, that’s for sure. The town itself looked like a haven for punks and surfers, runaways and teenagers, perhaps even some old hippies.

“Are there any adults in this town?”

Mr. Diamond chuckled. “Santa Carla definitely has a younger population but you can’t be that old that you wouldn’t want to join in the fun.”

Detta’s words caught in her throat. She didn’t know quite how to answer that. “I’m twenty three, Mr. Diamond. Definitely not a teenager but I’m also not above acting like one.” She smirked slightly.

“Twenty three, huh? Can’t say I’ve ever had anyone your age looking to buy a house. Most of them can hardly rent an apartment. So where’d you get the cash?”

Where did this guy come up with these gems? Detta scoffed and beat around the bush. “It was a transfer bonus from my boss. He wanted to make sure I could make myself comfortable. Make the move easier to take, you know?”

Mr. Diamond’s arm shot out in front of Detta’s face, coming within inches of her nose. “There. That’s the boardwalk. Pretty much the center of town. If you look over there, the pier’s down there. Kind of fancy, that end. This is the main beach. There are a bunch of smaller ones dotting the coast but everyone comes here.”

Detta’s body was forced back against the seat to avoid coming in contact with Mr. Diamond’s arm. Only when he replaced his hand on the wheel did she chance a look out the window. It definitely looked like a fun town but she was thankful that she already had a job. It didn’t look like Santa Carla was all that rich in employment opportunities.

As they drove further through town, Mr. Diamond continued to talk. “You have your basic grocery store, drug store, all that scattered about town, most set back a bit from the beach. There’s a small gym if you like that kind of thing, town hall, et cetera, et cetera. It’s your standard small town, just set on the beach.”

Detta wondered why the house she was going to look at was so cheap. It was coastal property. That alone should have rocketed the price. Santa Carla didn’t look run down or slummy. So what was it?

After climbing a rough grade up to the top of a bluff in Mr. Diamond’s used up Mercedes, they had finally reached their destination. Detta was right. The house was on the bluff. There was a decent sized front yard, thick trees to either side and blue in the back. She looked around and frowned.

“Am I on the moon or something? Don’t I have neighbors?”

“On either side, yeah. The houses just aren’t that close up here is all. See? If you look down through those trees there, you can see red and white, probably the car and the house. Now, let me show you inside.”

Detta nodded and followed him inside. He turned on every light he could, even though it wasn’t necessary, making sure she could see very nook and cranny of the house. They walked into what would be a living room. It and the dining room were separated by an island. Next to the dining room, separated by another island, was the kitchen. Off the kitchen was the half bath and next to that a decent sized bedroom. The second floor was lofted; the stairs leading up were at the front door. The loft itself had a picture window that looked out back over the ocean and it’s own full bathroom. Back downstairs, off the dining room was the deck, shielded by a large sliding glass door. Detta walked out onto the deck and grasped the wrought iron banister. There was only about fifty feet between her and the edge of the cliff but the view was astounding. Open ocean and open sky. Detta frowned and whirled around to face Mr. Diamond.

“Ok. What’s the deal? Am I on Ocean Avenue or something? Are the walls going to start bleeding once I move in?”

“I don’t—”

“There’s no way this house should be in my price range but here it is. Was there a mass murder here I should know about?”

Mr. Diamond laughed. “No murders. The last occupants had to leave in a hurry. Well, a hurry a year ago. People like to visit beach towns, not live in them. And a lot of people are put off by the kids. So, the house was on the market for a long time and the price kept dropping.”

She looked at him skeptically, only believing half of what he said but not letting on. Detta turned her head to look over her shoulder quickly before walking back inside. “Well, I hope I don’t have to go to the office a lot. I’ll take it.”

She wiggled the pen in front of Mr. Diamond a bit too rigorously since he started to look at her oddly. She smirked at him and put pen to paper, signing her name on the dotted line that would grant her the deed to her new house. Detta leaned back in her chair and watched him compile the rest of the paperwork. She shifted uncomfortably, the heat of the office starting to get to her. She much preferred the agent’s car to this heat box of a room. At least the car had windows that could open and was a bit more spacious.

“Now, this will release the transfer so just sign here.”

Wire transfers. What would she do without them? Well, her closing wouldn’t be going this smoothly, that’s for sure. She leaned forward again and signed the paper before tucking her pen back into her purse. Mr. Diamond reached into a drawer in his desk and drew out a large yellow envelope and handed it over to Detta.

“Everything you need is in there: keys, deed, pertinent phone numbers, including mine,” he chuckled. Detta tried to suppress a laugh. “If you have any questions, you know where to find me. Enjoy your new home, Miss Matise.”

“I’m sure I will.”


	2. Moving Day

The move from San Jose to Santa Carla wasn’t as strenuous as she thought it was going to be. Movers are one of Man’s greatest inventions because she certainly couldn’t have relocated all of her things by herself and, on the west coast, she was very much alone. Detta drove ahead of the moving truck in her 1983 Nova (another compensation purchase) and kept a close eye on them in her rearview mirror. For whatever unwarranted reason, she was paranoid that they would drive off with her things.

As they rolled into town, Detta noticed the ‘Welcome to Santa Carla’ billboard that she didn’t notice the last time she was here. She smiled at the inviting sign as she made her first official, permanent step into Santa Carla. She checked the truck in back of her again and noticed something written on the back of the billboard. She chanced a glance over her shoulder to get a better read and her jaw dropped at what she saw. ‘Murder Capital of the World.’ She slammed on her brakes and a series of squeals could be heard behind her as the truck came within inches of her back bumper.

“What the hell’s your problem, lady?”

“That bastard,” Detta mumbled to herself.

She stuck her arm out into the warm ocean air as a means of apology and started along the road again. He never told me the real reason why the property was so cheap. The crime’s phenomenal in this town! But maybe that was just someone being a wiseass. Maybe they were bored and wanted to give people a good scare. New York’s idea of a scare is running out of coffee. Things were rather different on this coast, as least in this town anyway.

The movers wouldn’t let her move any of the smaller stuff in until they got the furniture situated. Then they pretty much unloaded the rest of her things into the center of the living room floor and left her to her own devices.

“Lovely.”

It was nearly dark by the time she had gotten all of the boxes into the right rooms. She hadn’t even unpacked yet but she did know this: she was starving. She locked up her house (her house!) and hopped into her Nova to scavenge for some food. She thought about ordering something but decided against it, turning into the parking lot of a small grocery store further into town.

One hundred and twenty dollars later (she was rather hungry), she was fixing herself a sandwich in her new kitchen, drinking a soda and eating some chips. The silence of her empty house started to ring in her ears so she plugged in her stereo and sound blasted so loud from the speakers she thought they were going to blow. The song wasn’t even discernible. Detta jumped and cringed and groped for the volume, turning it down to a level that didn’t make her eardrums bleed. Tears for Fears’ ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’ made itself known when she adjusted the volume and she went back to her sandwich. She started eating but grew discontent and started fidgeting. She looked out of the slider and saw the darkened frame of a chair sitting on her patio. She grabbed her food, flicked on the light and moved her dinner outside. It was cooler out there anyway. She looked out over the cliff, her small yet ever-expansive backyard, and marveled at the view. Even with the patio light on, the amount of stars was quadruple the greatest amount she had ever seen while in New York. She could see waves breaking out in the sea and the tiny lights from the Boardwalk glittered in the distance.

But then something jerked her from her dining serenity. A noise, but what was it and where was it coming from? Detta leaned back to the open slider and listened to her stereo—just music coming out of that. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw something flash past. She jerked her head upwards but the sky was empty. A bird perhaps. But she could still hear the noise, this high-pitched screech and…laughter? No, that was probably the radio. But the screech—a bird maybe? Or bats? Detta shuddered at the thought. The last thing she wanted to contend with was a flock of bats. At least she didn’t have an attic. She shook her head and passed it off as some kind of animal before collecting the remnants of her meal and going back inside.

She tossed the debris on the counter, promising herself she’d clean it tomorrow. She contemplated unpacking some more but decided against it. Although it was still early, Detta had done a lot during the day and just wanted to sleep. At the moment she was regretting having the movers bring her bedroom things upstairs because she felt she might just fall asleep on her way up but she shrugged it off. She hated to sleep on the first floor anyway and grudgingly walked up the flight of stairs to be greeted by her inviting mattress. She quickly changed, threw a sheet and pillow on top of the bed and curled herself up in it, falling asleep almost immediately.

vVv

Something lurched Detta from her sleep and she sat bolt upright, trying to grasp the difference between sleep and reality. It was still dark out, no signs of light and no signs of a clock. Squinting through the sleep in her eyes, Detta rummaged around in a box next to her bed and found a small table clock. If it was right, it was three in the morning. She moaned and fell back onto the bed, dropping the clock onto the floor. What woke her up? She felt herself drifting back into sleep when she heard it again—engines. There were a few of them and they kept revving. They were close. Detta got up and walked over to the window, stretching to see anything but her only view was that of the ocean. She crept downstairs in the relative darkness, trying to get a better look.

There, off her living room, she saw a flash of white light, a few flashes in rapid succession. That had to have been where the noise was coming from. Engines, they sounded like bikes. Screams and honking horns couldn’t wake Detta up hut engines muffled by a few hundred yards of trees did. She shook her head and shrugged off the incident as a matter of timing, dragged herself back up to the loft and set to finishing her night’s sleep.


	3. Welcome?

An entire week had passed and Detta had started to suffer some serious cabin fever. She was hell-bent on getting herself situated before doing anything else and she only left the house for the occasional supply or bite to eat (if she didn’t feel like making anything). Her bedroom in the loft was the first thing she worked on. Her room was her sanctuary and before the rest of the house was made a home, her room had to be her own. The finishing touch was positioning the bed so that each morning, when she woke, the first thing she would see was the ocean. A view like that was too good to waste.

By the end of that grueling week, Detta’s house was her own and it actually felt like it. For the first time she had a stand-alone office, not one but two toilets (and both actually worked), a kitchen (not a kitchenette-bleed-into-a-dining-room-bleed-into-a-living-room that totaled four hundred square feet) and a yard (not a fire escape). The adjustment from city life to…this was proving rather difficult. She hated driving everywhere and tried to walk if she could. Nothing, except the boardwalk and pier, was open past nine and the silence was sometimes deafening. She almost considered buying some ambient music of tires screeching, horns blowing and people yelling when she was having trouble sleeping. It was noise she had grown accustomed to since she was eighteen and the silence was getting rather nerve-wracking.

During her adjustment week, Detta subscribed to the local newspaper. She wanted to get a feel for it. Perhaps she’d see if she could submit a few pieces for some extra cash. Her “bonus” wasn’t going to last forever and while she did have a steady income from the column, she knew this move was not a good sign for it. It was a small paper, nothing like the National Tribune and reading it thoroughly took next to no time at all. When she got to the classifieds, she skimmed the notices, seeing if anything caught her eye. Mostly old cars for sale, dogs (perhaps she should get a dog), appliances. She glanced quickly at the jobs section, knowing nothing would catch her eye but just as she was closing up the paper, something did.

It was a larger ad than the rest but that’s not what did it. “Writer” was printed in bold letters and her eyes narrowed in. Writer proficient in advertisements and promotions needed for small video store. Portfolio recommended, experience a must. Apply in person at Max’s Video… She hadn’t done advertisements since her college internship and even then they were just a few words and maybe a graphic, a feeble attempt to promote some new store or boutique. But she saved all of them, almost knowing she would need them later on. While it makes moving difficult, being a pack rat does have its benefits.

Why not? It couldn’t hurt to try and Detta couldn’t help but think that his applicant list was rather short if he was just advertising around here. It was strange, though, considering he wanted people in after eight in the evening. Whoever it was was rather unconventional. Nevertheless, she decided to try that night. She needed to get out of the house, even if it were for business. If it didn’t last too long, she’d meander around the boardwalk, maybe even grab a drink. It wouldn’t be the first time she drank alone.

She trot upstairs and rummaged underneath her bed for a minute before realizing her portfolios were in her office. She felt spoiled just thinking of that and couldn’t help but smile. She skipped back downstairs and into her office, pulling out her advertising portfolio and one of her many pre-made resumes. One could never have too many of those.

She glanced at the clock on the desk and it read just after one. She had plenty of time to kill so Detta decided on a trip to the beach. She changed into her bathing suit and threw on a pair of cut-offs and a tank top over it. She may have been in California but she was still modest. She gathered up a towel, some sunscreen, a magazine and a couple cans of soda, threw them into a shoulder bag and headed out.

Detta walked up to her car and stopped short of getting in. In New York fashion, she was going to walk. It was a couple of miles from her house to the beach but that was a cakewalk. She did that daily in New York. Just to make it challenging, she thought about trying to make it on her hands. She considered her balance and knowing she wasn’t Miss Grace on her feet, she’d probably end up the worse for wear on the flip side. The walk itself took about forty-five minutes before she was standing on the stairs leading down to the beach. If she continued further, she would have made her way to the hub but she would save that for tonight.

She stepped down on to the sand and found herself an empty section close to the water. She settled herself in for a few hours of relaxation—something she hadn’t had in weeks, if not months. The atmosphere was definitely less hectic than what she was used to and she could almost feel herself getting antsy but after a few breaths she calmed down and settled into her surroundings.

The sun was setting by the time Detta returned home. She still had a couple hours so she grabbed a bite to eat before showering and getting herself ready for her impromptu interview. She decided on a knee-length dress, eggplant, empire waist and bunched around the chest. She wanted to wear a strapless but, even though the amount of material was miniscule, she settled on the spaghetti straps. It was a vintage dress, one of Detta’s favorites. For shoes she went with a pair of boots, ones she wore often, closely resembling cowboy boots; a deep brown color but without all of the fancy carvings on them. Those, she thought, were too tacky. She was never one for current style. Leg warmers and Aqua Net just weren’t her thing. She much preferred styles from the seventies; the dresses, the hair. Sure she got looks but she also didn’t have to spend hours primping.

Detta let her hair out of the towel, the wet blonde tumbling to her shoulder blades, contrasting with her sun-kissed skin. She was surprised she didn’t burn but, knowing her luck, it was just taking longer to come out. She enjoyed the fact that since her face had tanned; it negated the need for make-up. Just a little bit of eyeliner and she was done. She would let her hair air dry tonight; it wouldn’t take long and it would result in a nice wave.

Although she knew the way to the boardwalk, Detta knew that walking alone at night was never the wisest idea. She didn’t think twice about doing it in New York but she also felt safe there. Here, everything was foreign and something about the town made her weary. She also remembered those engines revving at three in the morning. The last thing she wanted was to run into the owners of that noise. No good could come of that.

She threw open her car door and tossed her shoulder bag onto the passenger seat, started up her engine and made her way down to one of the boardwalk parking lots. It was a pathetic drive, really, taking just over five minutes to get there. Detta shook her head as she exited her car, locking it behind her. If only finding a parking space were this easy in New York. She had parked on the pier side of the Boardwalk where she knew the video store to be and started on her journey to the store. It was a short-traveled trip in the end considering she came up on it after only a few minutes.

She stood back from the storefront, staring through the windows. The outside was a vibrant yellow, neon breakers filling the gaps in glass. Inside there were people milling about and two behind the counter—one was a young girl probably about Detta’s age but it looked as if she had just been yanked off of the streets. An African-American girl, she was gaunt and rather pale and looking like she was coming down from something. The other was an older man, old enough to be her father but he made an attempt to dress hip. He looked goofy, glasses, very tall; he towered over the girl. He looked pleasant enough. She only hoped his looks weren’t deceiving.

As she walked into the store, Detta could hear the rumbling of engines in the distance growing steadily closer. She ignored them and proceeded inside, becoming overwhelmed with florescent lighting and dozens of TVs all flashing the same movie. By the looks of it, it was The Breakfast Club. Detta wasn’t a huge fan of all the teen movies coming out but this one she liked, if only for Judd Nelson. She smirked to herself, staring off at the TVs when a pleasant and chipper voice wrenched her from her daydream.

“Hello and welcome to Max’s Video! Is there anything I can help you find?”

It was the man behind the counter. He was beaming at her in a genuinely friendly way that Detta just wasn’t used to and was rather taken aback by it.

“Do you greet all of your customers that way?”

As soon as the words escaped her mouth, she wanted to snatch them up and stuff them down her own throat. Stupid. She gave what she knew was a very defeated look and didn’t even want to look at the gentleman but she did. He was looking at her, a small smile on his face, almost sensing her err in judgment.

“I’m sorry. I’m from New York, see?” Detta chuckled nervously. “Not much by the way of cordial there. I’m not used to such warm welcomes.” Detta gave a heartier laugh.

The man laughed as well, not at all uncomfortable with the situation. “Ah, a New Yorker. Used to live there myself. Called the Upper West Side home for a few years.”

Detta nodded. “Lucky you. Lower East Side for me. Needless to say, my defenses are always up.”

The man gave a guttural laugh. “No need for New York defenses here! Santa Carla is a nice town. Maybe not as active as New York but for someone your age, I’m sure you won’t be hard up for something to do.”

Detta gave the man a warm smile. Her certainly was charming,

“So, what are you in the mood for tonight? A good laugh? A good scare? Perhaps a hearty cry?” he asked, raising an eyebrow to her but trying to stifle a laugh.

Detta chuckled. “Actually,” she said, reaching into her shoulder bag and pulling out the newspaper, “I’m responding to your ad. It says you need a writer. Well, guess what? I’m a writer!” she said, smiling. She could feel her guard dropping with this man. He exuded comfort to her.

His eyes beamed and he clapped his hands together. “Excellent! So tell me what experience you have Miss…?”

“Sorry. Matise. Benedetta Matise,” she said, reaching out her hand to he could shake it. “But please, call me Detta.”

He did the same. “I refuse to let anyone call me anything other than Max. I’m old enough as it is without people adding mister to my name. Makes me feel like my grandfather,” he laughed. “So, where were we? Right! Experiences.”

Detta reached into her bag and pulled out her portfolio and resume and handed them over to Max. “I haven’t had extensive advertising experience but I’ve done some and I’m a writer for the National Tribune, a columnist.

Max’s eyes widened. “Very strong credentials you have here.”

“Thank you. I also have a double Bachelor’s in journalism and English with a minor in communication. Most of the information you need is right in the resume.”

She saw Max frown and became worried. “Isn’t the Tribune based in New York?”

“It is.”

“And your editor allows you to move all the way out here to work?”

“Actually, there’s an office in San Francisco that I have to touch base with every once in a while but I work from home mostly. I have a fax machine set up and I mail them things when necessary.”

Max put Detta’s portfolio down and cast her a concerned look. “So what brought you out here?”

Detta gave a nervous laugh. “Well, long story short, I was transferred.” Detta gave a small smile and looked up at Max. He could read her; she felt it. She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze that lasted only a moment before he returned to being chipper.

“So, tell me more about these advertisements. Who…”

Max trailed off and his gaze wandered outside the store. For the first time since walking in, Detta was aware of what was going on outside. She followed Max’s look out the window and saw a group of boys, four of them, a couple years younger than herself by the looks, causing trouble for passersby.

“Damn it. I’m sorry. Excuse me for a minute,” Max said as he walked around the counter and out the door to confront the boys.

“Those boys don’t know when to quit. I don’t know why Max doesn’t call the cops,” the girl behind the counter said to her.

“They come around her a lot?” Detta asked, still looking outside. Two of them were looking at Max, the other two were looking in the store.

“Ha! You have no idea. Nearly every night they come around here, bothering people. I think they’re harmless, cute too, but Max doesn’t like them in the store.”

Detta continued to stare outside, watching Max trying to move the boys along. She couldn’t quite tell what they looked like from this angle but they kept switching off between looking at Max and the store.

“So you applying for the job?” the girl asked Detta.

“Oh, yes.”

“Max’s a good boss. Treats people right. I’ve only been here a month but you should of seen the way I looked when I first walked in the door. Don’t look that better now but I’m getting there. Owe it all to Max.”

“So he treats you right then?”

“Sure does. Not in that sleazy way neither. He’s good.”

Detta smiled at the girl, thankful for her insight.

“Name’s Maria. I can tell already he likes you. Welcome aboard,” she smiled and turned away as Max walked back into the store.

Detta looked out the window and saw that now all four boys were leering in after Max, straddling their bikes. They gunned their engines and squealed out of the front parking lot, Max rolling his eyes behind their backs.

“My apologies for that,” he said, walking back around the counter to face her. “A drawback to working here. You have to deal with punks like them.” Detta smiled, unsure of what to say. “So, where were we? That’s it, your advertisements. I wanted to talk about…”

vVv

Detta and Max talked at length about her advertising and writing experiences and she shared a few ideas for advertising concepts for the store. After an hour or so of discussion, Max took Detta on as part of his team. They were to work together for coming up with advertisements and she would be able to work from home a couple days a week. Or, rather, nights. Max’s schedule only allowed him to be in his store at night so Detta had to accommodate to that but everything else was a plus. The pay was good, the location was good, Max was a great guy and Maria gave him an excellent review. Nothing could be worse than her editor or her New York office.

She checked the time before she left the store and realized it was still early, by New York standards anyway. She wasn’t sure what time the boardwalk closed but from the pier it appeared to still be jumping. So Detta went for a walk. She decided on a nighttime tour of the boardwalk before walking back and going home. Even at this hour, it was still packed with teens and people her age chomping down on hot dogs and cotton candy, pouring off of the rides and trying their hand at the games that dotted the seaside. She stopped at one, the one where you shoot water into a hole and blow up the balloon, and watched as some over-tanned surfer flipped out after popping his balloon first. The attendant handed him a stuffed animal which he immediately handed over to his girlfriend, an equally tanned (and bleached) surfer with her hair done up in a side ponytail. Detta never understood the appeal of the half-a-handlebar look.

As the crowd thickened, Detta snapped into New York mode, moving at warp speed through the throngs of people, weaving her way through them like thread through a needle. But quickly a light went off in her head and a voice told her to slow down. She wasn’t in New York anymore and as she blew by these people, she was also blowing past some stores that she would like. A couple were closed, and rightly so, but many were open including a jewelry store. Detta was never one for accessories but it didn’t hurt to look. A couple of loud hoots rang out over the crowd as she entered the store but she paid it no mind. It was very much a beachy store, a lot of pooka jewelry and threaded things. There was some silver and some of those rubber bracelets that Madonna had made so popular. Detta couldn’t stand them and didn’t stop to give it a second look.

But some bangles did catch her eye; a cluster of bracelets comprised of dark wooden beads and turquoise and jade stones. They were all different sizes and shapes and they looked good on her wrist when she tried them on. She brought them up to the register and paid for them, tucking them safely into her bag and walked out of the store. Mobs of people were about but there was a call of ‘movie mama’ over the anxious chatter of people around her. For some reason Detta knew that was pointed at her. She quickly glanced around but didn’t notice anyone trying to get her attention so she continued on down the boardwalk.

She forced herself to stroll, something she was not used to in the slightest but she looked near neurotic with the way she moved about compared to everyone else. She felt she was being obvious in walking so slow but she wasn’t attracting odd looks from anyone so she carried on.

Then she heard it again. “Movie mama!” It was louder this time and someone was definitely following her. Or she was trapped in front of a huge coincidence.

Detta ignored it and, in true New York fashion, put her blinders up.

“Looks like Max got himself a new employee.”

This was a different voice, colder, menacing. Her heart jumped into her throat. There was no mistaking it. They were talking to her. She feigned ignorance and continued walking. Surely they wouldn’t try something in front of all these people. Shit. My car’s by the pier. How am I going to get to around them? How am I going to turn around?

Not expecting it, a guy jumped out in front of her, keeping her from moving on. He was tall, taller than her at least. Her eyes were level with his chin. His look alone screamed mischievous. He wore a broad grin, huge blonde hair and coattails with a mesh shirt. An interesting combination. But Detta kept her face stoic.

“Hey movie mama. Get anything good?”

He grinned at her, waiting for her to answer. Detta merely looked at him and tried to step around him but he stepped in front of her. She tried going the other way but he followed. He laughed, thinking it amusing. Detta stepped again and this time, when he stepped, she pivoted around him, leaving him behind her and kept walking.

“Ooooooooo. Pretty ballerina with her fancy footwork,” he called after her and laughed.

Detta continued walking but saw she was nearing the end of the Boardwalk. She had to turn around. She didn’t have a choice.

“Shit,” she whispered to herself.

She rolled her eyes and turned around only to come nose to nose with another boy. This one was shorter than the last, only a couple inches taller than her. He, like the wild-haired one, had been outside of Max’s store while she was there. If she recognized them, they must recognize her. That’s probably why they’re following her. But why? Boredom?

Detta stared straight into eyes the color of the ocean as he placed a hand on her arm to steady her. Detta tensed, not liking being touched by a stranger, and he lifted his hand immediately.

“Need a guide?” he asked.

Detta stepped back, still staring as him. His hair was curly, a blonde that she couldn’t tell if it was naturally dirty or an unwashed dirty. He wore a patchwork jacket and leather chaps. He didn’t look the equestrian type, nor the cowboy. More than likely just a fashion statement.

“No,” she said softly before stepping around him and walking back the way she came. He, unlike his friend, allowed her to move on.

“How about a ride?”

Detta looked to her side and saw him keeping step with her. “I’ve got my own,” and she carried on.

This boy didn’t frighten her as much as the other but she still wouldn’t trust him as far as she could throw him. Just because he looked innocent didn’t mean he was.

She fully expected to run into the other boy but he was nowhere to be found. And she didn’t want to seek him out. About halfway down the boardwalk she spotted a third boy, another one of the group, leaning against the banister glaring at her. He didn’t confront her like the other two, just watched but that, Detta thought, was scarier. She stared him down as she walked past and was the first to look away. She didn’t look back to see his reaction but felt defeated, dominated almost. But he, like the others, was gone when she moved on.

She was closing in on the pier and thought she was out of danger. She didn’t dare look back but looked from side to side, trying to get a glimpse behind her with her peripheral but saw nothing. From here she could see the video store and they were closing down. Maria was just walking out.

Her eyes focused on Maria, Detta walked faster but slammed into a black shrouded body in front of her. She looked up at the fourth guy out of that pack of boys at Max’s. He was looming over her, leering down at her with a smirk on his face. All she saw was his black clothing, pale skin and platinum hair, his eyes piercing her own.

“Welcome to Santa Carla.”

It was that voice, the one filled with malicious intent that called after her earlier. He looked like he could tear her up like a piece of paper. But Detta said nothing, just stared him in the eye before moving around him and leaving him behind. He didn’t try to stop her, didn’t play games but his voice was enough. It sent chills through her body. She pictured a murderer having the same presence and remembered the next time she came down here at night she was going to arm herself.

She saw Maria up ahead, walking away from the pier.

“Hey Maria!” Detta called after her, trotting to catch up.

“Hey girl. You still here?”

“Yeah. Thought I’d give myself a tour.”

Maria smiled. “Nice huh? I could show you a couple places to hang out whenever you get bored.”

“Sounds good.”

“Just let me know, girl, and we’re there.”

“Awesome. Say, you need a ride home?”

Maria smiled and looked as if this were a rarity. “Sure. Thanks.”

Detta walked close to Maria towards her car, chancing a look behind her only once but no one was there. Detta unlocked the door for Maria and walked over to the other side of her car to let herself in. Before she got in, she thought she heard that squealing sound again, like bats, that she heard her first night. She hurried into her car and locked the door after her. It now seemed like her imagination was scarier than anything that the New York streets could throw at her. She needed to learn to control it.


	4. Got A Ride

Detta woke the next morning and laid in bed, staring at the ceiling and mulling things over in her mind. The more she tried to think about the previous night, the blurrier the images became. Did she really have those encounters with the boys? They just seemed to appear next to her, around her and were gone. But she spoke to them, well a couple of them. But other people had to have seen her reaction; that she was trying to get away. Or they just didn’t care. How many people would have run to help her if she was being raped in the middle of the boardwalk? Perhaps a little extreme but it was testing the observance of those around her. No on else reacted to them though. Maybe she was the only one that saw them and heard their taunting. She had been in the sun most of the day.

She threw the sheet off of her body and hauled herself from her bed, setting downstairs to the office. She had a column due that she needed to get faxed to New York. She worked all morning at her typewriter, striving to get the article done. She needed to make an appearance in San Francisco this week as well, something she was not looking forward to doing. She finished her column around noon and sent it via fax to New York as well as sending it by mail. She walked to the mailbox at the end of her road to drop it off.

It was then that she saw her neighbor’s house, got a good look at it, for the first time. It was a ranch, white, with a red Corvette sitting in the driveway. There was a wooden bridge extended over a tiny ravine that led to the front door. Detta saw something white and furry lying on the porch. She took a few steps closer to the house and saw it was a dog. Not wanting to disturb it, she stepped back and continued back to her own house.

That night was her first night working with Max on his advertisements. Detta wasn’t nervous, just rather anxious to go back to that store. If what Maria said were true, she’d surely run into those boys again, something she was rather apprehensive about.

She stood behind the counter, flipping through a portfolio of old ads Maria had found for her. Detta thought she’d already see Max there but he wasn’t. She needed to occupy herself in the meantime. As she stood, elbow on glass and chin on hand, tossing through the meager ads Max had done by other people, a voice echoed over her head.

“We’re looking for a movie.”

Without looking up, Detta answered, “You’ll have to ask Maria. I won’t be of any help.”

A chilling, familiar voice spoke after her. “We were hoping you would.”

A gloved finger found its way under Detta’s chin and started to lift her head. She grabbed the phantom hand and twisted it, looking up at its owner. Her look of rage immediately dropped when her eyes fell upon the platinum blonde guy from the boardwalk the previous night.

Detta swallowed her fear and tried to remain calm. “Oh. It’s you.” She cocked an eyebrow at him. “No help from me. I don’t do sales.”

She turned around to go into the back room but two more guys were blocking her only way out from behind the counter.

“What do you do?” the wiley-haired blonde asked her.

Detta looked back around and the evil blonde was smirking at her. Behind him was the dark, silent one, the one that glared at her last night. She turned around again to face the other two blondes and the one with the curly hair smiled an innocent yet devilish smile at her.

“First you assault the customers. Then you don’t answer our questions. Tsk tsk,” Platinum said. “What kind of employee are you?”

She looked at him and sneered. “An angry one. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have work to do.”

Detta tried walking through the two boys but they formed a wall.

“We’re just asking a question,” Curly said. “No harm in that.”

“Yeah, girl,” said Wiley. “What do you do if you don’t hoc videos?”

Unless Max walked in at this precise moment, she was stuck. She didn’t want to answer but felt she had no choice. She rolled her eyes and replied, “I create advertisements, help promote the store. There. Happy?”

“Very,” replied Wiley. He bowed low and stepped out of her way, gesturing for her to walk through.

Detta looked over her shoulder at the other two. Platinum just smirked and the silent one glared. Curly stepped out of the way as she walked towards him. She felt a need to establish her dominance with at least one of them so she looked straight into his eyes as she passed, not breaking the gaze. He smiled, looking back at her with the same determination. When she was bordering on walking backwards, she broke her gaze with Curly, walked into the back office and shut the door behind her. She could hear Maria come walking up to them, saying something about how they needed to leave before Max came in. After a few minutes, Maria came in asking if she was okay. Detta assured her she was fine and set back to work.

When she got out of work, Detta was in the mood to wander again and this time she was prepared for it. Tucked safely in her bag was one of her steak knives. It was better than nothing. She drove around to a parking lot just off the boardwalk and set out on her stroll amidst the punks and runaways that littered the oceanside.

She ambled past the rides and the jewelry store she visited the night before. She passed a piercer and contemplated getting another set of holes in her ears. Walking just past him, a voice spoke to her.

“You don’t trust me, do you?”

The words rang in her ear, spoken so close to her. She turned to look for the source and saw Curly just behind her, walking up next to her. She looked away and continued walking.

When she didn’t answer, he spoke again. “Do you?”

Without looking, she replied, “You haven’t given me a reason to.”

From the corner of her eye she saw him shrug his shoulders. “Never gave you a reason not to, either.”

Detta scoffed, stopped walking and looked directly at him. “That stunt tonight, what was that? And the vanishing act of you and your friends last night? What am I supposed to make of that? They’re watching us now, aren’t they?” Detta scanned the crowd, looking for those familiar faces but couldn’t find them.

Curly’s smiled broadened. “Guess I have given you a reason to not trust me, huh? But does that mean you can’t talk to me?”

Detta looked back at him, a puzzled look on her face. “Huh?”

“Do you have to trust me in order to talk to me?”

She rolled her eyes and continued walking, leaving Curly behind. When she saw he wasn’t beside her, she stopped and turned around. “Are you going to talk to me or what? Because I’m going to continue this way and it might be difficult to talk over the crowd at this distance.” She crossed her arms over her chest as he walked towards her. When he caught up, they continued on. “You have a name?”

“Marko.”

She nodded. “They send you to torment me some more? You their messenger?”

Marko just laughed. “No. I’m here on my own.”

“You’re lying.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“I can feel it.”

“Well, you’re feeling wrong.”

“Am I?” Detta raised an eyebrow towards him.

“What about you? Got a name or should I just call you Movie Mama?”

Detta cringed. “Please don’t call me that. It’s Detta.”

“You’re new here.” It wasn’t a question.

She nodded. “Transferred. I was in New York before here.”

Marko chuckled. “We scare you yet you’re a New Yorker? I thought you guys were tougher than that.”

Detta looked affronted. “Who said I was afraid of you?”

“Didn’t have to say it.”

“Looks like you’re the one reading wrong now.”

“Am I?”

“We need to turn around. My car’s back that way,” Detta said, realizing they had reached the end of the boardwalk.

“So you don’t need a ride?”

“Didn’t need one last night, don’t need one tonight.”

“Will you need one tomorrow?”

“Why are you so keen on giving me a ride.”

“Just being nice. Is no one nice in New York?”

Detta laughed out loud. “They would sooner stomp on your head than offer you a ride. And those are the taxi drivers.”

“So?”

“Ask me tomorrow.”

“You won’t be around tomorrow.”

“You say that as if you know.”

“Am I right?” Marko looked at her with a half smile. In her boots, they came eye to eye.

Detta looked away and gave a nervous laugh. “Guess you caught me, huh?”

“You don’t work tomorrow.”

“I do. Just not here. I have to go up to San Francisco.”

“How many jobs do you have?”

“Just the two. I guess they should keep me busy. But just because I don’t work at the store tomorrow doesn’t mean I won’t come down.”

“We’re here most nights—”

“We? I thought you were by yourself!” The panic rose in her voice and her eyes started to dart around the crowd.

“I’m alone with you. I’m sure the guys are around somewhere but you’re not being stalked,” Marko said calmly.

“Could of fooled me.”

“We just like to play with the fresh meat, is all.”

“Um, thanks?” Detta gave another nervous laugh and Marko smiled broadly at her.

His smiled warmed her. She looked at his face and felt comforted. Even when he was with his group, he looked the least threatening. Wiley’s hands looked ready to grope, Broody looked like he would rip her throat out and Platinum seemed like he wanted to harvest her soul. But perhaps she got it backwards. Maybe looks were deceiving. They came upon the parking lot and Detta easily found her car.

“I’m parked just over there.” Marko’s gaze followed her finger and returned to her face. “Thanks for walking me.” She smiled lightly, unsure of what her next move should be.

Marko nodded. “I’ll see you then. Soon.”

Detta nodded back. “You know where to look for me,” she said with a smile and started walking away. She turned back around just after a few steps and said, “Goodnight,” before carrying on to her car and driving off.

“Goodnight, Detta,” Marko whispered, staring intently after her before turning back to the boardwalk to rejoin the crowd.


	5. Bad Day at the Office

Detta sat on her deck in the dark, a glass of vodka on the rocks in her hand and a lit cigarette stuck between two fingers. If anyone were with her, they wouldn’t be able to see it but her cheeks were flushed thanks to her one hundred proof tan. The day would have actually been better if she had been fired. At least then she’d be free of him.

She arrived in San Francisco around mid-morning, expecting nothing but having to make an appearance. But, when she walked in the door, the west coast editor called her into his office and shut the door behind her. Never a good sign. He looked troubled, as if he didn’t want to say what he had to say.

“Am I getting fired?” Detta asked him and he merely shook his head.

“I’ve gotten word from the east that I need to relay certain criteria for your column.”

“Like…?”

“He said, and I quote, ‘you are to stick with what tits knows best: shopping, make-up and hair.’”

“I should tear into him just for the tits thing. So, wait. What you’re telling me is he wants me to dumb down my article? Not the best moves for him, is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Never mind. He’s trying to turn me into one of his mindless girls. The man’s afraid of my brain. He’s misogynistic!” West didn’t reply but instead let her rant. “What am I supposed to do? I don’t even know how to talk about that stuff. He knows my column gets a lot of hits from businesswomen and it’s broadened his market. He’s going to close it back up again if he makes me do this.”

“He doesn’t care. He says women need to stick to what they know and leave the intellect and politics to “us,”" he said, using his fingers to create quotation marks on the word ‘us.’ “I’ll lose my job if I publish any of your real work.”

“God. I’m going to have to subscribe to women’s magazines now. Yes, I know I am a girl but I’m not that girly! What am I going to do?” Detta threw her head into her hands.

“Think outside the box.”

“I’m sorry?” she said, looking up at him.

“The west coast edition of the Tribune accepts anonymous editorials. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting to get to.”

He gave her a sly smile before going straight-faced again, holding the door open for her to exit. Detta nodded, quickly trying to decipher that look, and walked out of the office. She started walking over to her desk, thoroughly depressed when she walked by the secretary’s desk and, up in the corner, laid a Cosmo. Detta looked at it and then up at the girl.

“Could I borrow this?”

“Oh take it, darling. It’s last month’s anyway. No good to me now!”

Detta scooped up the Cosmopolitan and brought it back to her desk with her. She rummaged around in the drawers for a pad and pen and began flipping through the magazine, trying to determine what girly girls really liked. She was bored to tears by page ten.

“It’s so superficial!” she wailed and threw herself onto the desk, face down in the magazine. She didn’t care if anyone saw her or not. She had, basically, had her column wrenched away from her and then given back completely unrecognizable.

She spent the entire day pouring over that Cosmo, trying to come up with ideas for articles, thinking of ways in which to half-heartedly make it sound smart. But no matter how she worded it, Judd Nelson’s choice of jacket was sorely lacking on the intelligence scale. She gave up as the sun was going down and departed for Santa Carla. She’d been on her deck, drinking and eating chips since she got back.

Detta sat, wallowing in self-pity in the darkness. She felt deflated and rather buzzed. She didn’t know what to do. He was forcing her out, trying to get her to quit so he could be rid of her but she wouldn’t leave that easily. The San Francisco editor mentioned anonymous editorials. Perhaps she should utilize that tip. She took a drag off of her cigarette and exhaled, watching what she could of the smoke curl in front of her face. Nothing was helping her release any of her anger. The cigarettes just made her smell and the alcohol, while supposed to be numbing her, only made her brain act in fast motion. She couldn’t shut it off and the last thing she wanted to do was drink herself into a stupor.

She stood up, placing her drink down and taking a final drag off the cigarette before flicking it away. She walked over to the banister and clamped on to it. She wrung her hands around the iron and crouched back, looking like she was going to launch herself over the rail. But when she came forward again, she didn’t jump but opened her lungs and screamed. She screamed as loud as her vocal chords could manage, her voice bouncing off of the cliffs and out to sea. Perhaps it would have been wiser to scream into a pillow but, at that moment, Detta didn’t care. With every particle of breath she let out, a piece of frustration left with it, floating away into the sky. The pitch of her scream was high but it didn’t sound, at least to her, like a scream of pain or help. Just a yell of release. Thirty seconds. Miraculous for a scream but it felt like ages.

She sat back down in her chair and lifted her glass of vodka to her lips, wanting to wet her throat again. But once she started drinking, she sputtered the liquid back into the glass. Her throat was raw and the alcohol burned too badly for her to get it past. Amidst her coughing came a pounding on her front door. She quickly turned; surprised that anyone would even bother.

She stopped at the sink for a glass of water, all the while the pounding continued. She ran to the door and, keeping the chain on, opened it to see a startled Max raising his hand to pound again. Detta removed the chain and threw open the door.

“Max, what—”

“Are you okay?” he asked, panting.

“I’m fine.” She looked confused. “What are you doing here?”

Max put his hand on the door frame to steady himself. “I heard a scream.”

“What do you mean…were you in the neighborhood?”

“I live right over there.” He pointed to the sloping trees towards what Detta knew was another white house and a red Corvette in the driveway. “I didn’t realize you had bought this house.”

Detta was still in shock that her new boss was also her neighbor. “You heard me scream?”

“Of course! What kind of neighbor would I be if I just let that go?”

“Definitely not used to good neighborly conduct. I could probably get stabbed on the subway during rush hour and no one would bat an eye.” Detta stared wide-eyed at Max.

“People are a little more friendly around here, Detta. You’re not in New York anymore.”

“No, but New York is right on top of me,” she mumbled.

“I’m sorry?”

“Nothing. Forget it. Oh, I’m sorry! Would you like to come in? Offer you some water after your run?” She chuckled.

Max hesitated for a moment before stepping over the threshold and she closed the door behind him. She scurried into the kitchen to grab a glass of ice water for him and hurried back into the living room where he was waiting.

She handed him the glass as he asked, “So, why the scream?”

Detta smiled up at him. “Frustrated. I’m having editor issues, to put it lightly. Nothing for you to worry about though. Just something I have to deal with.”

“Well if I can help,” he drank deeply from the glass, “you just let me know.” Detta smiled as he handed back the glass, ice cubes clanking. “Thank you. Give yourself a couple days if you want. Come back in when you’re ready.”

“Thanks, Max. I won’t need long. Just a day or so for…research.”

“Research?”

“Don’t ask. I’m a little bitter about it.”

He nodded and headed towards the door. “I must get going but now you know where to find me when you need me!” he said in his happy voice.

“Thanks. Have a good evening.”

“You too, Detta.”

She locked the door behind him when he left, doing the chain back up and ensuring that the deadbolts were secure. Old habits died hard. All she wanted to do now was sleep and her bed called her into a dreamless night.


	6. Extra Dirt

Three days of girly research and Detta was ready to snap. The only time she left the house was to run to the drug store and hoard all of the Cosmos, Glamoursand Vogues she could. Creative writing wasn’t her forte but, for now, she was going to tap into every ounce of creativity she could muster in order for her column to come off as believable. Plus, it would make her editor angry to know that she was actually able to comply with his request. She knew he was fully expecting her to put up a fight but she was going to shatter his expectations.

This time, she walked down to the boardwalk, for one reason or another. Safety be damned. She still had her knife in her shoulder bag that was tucked close to her body. She had spent so much time inside that the last thing she wanted to do was box herself into her car. She sat on a bench facing the ocean, her feet, clad in her failsafe boots, resting on the railing in front of her, her dress billowing in the breeze, wrapping itself around her legs. She had been sitting there for a while, just staring at the darkened sea and the beach littered with bonfires. She was close enough to one that the smell from the smoke was going to go home with her on her clothes.

Pressure on the bench next to her jerked her out of her cocoon of serenity and she looked to see who had taken a seat. Platinum, clad head to toe in black and looking out towards the ocean. Detta rolled her eyes and returned her gaze to the water.

“What do you want?” she asked, attempting to hide all evidence of a moody inflection in her voice.

“To sit. Is that ok with you?”

“Of all the places, all the benches on this boardwalk, you choose the one seat next to me?”

Both their gazes remained fixed in front of them but, like the poles, the repellant feeling between them was evident. He turned to look at her.

“What’s your name?”

“What, your friend didn’t tell you?” she replied, rolling her eyes and turning to look at him.

He smirked. “Detta.”

“You going to ask me about the weather next?”

He smirked again. “You don’t like me, do you?”

“I don’t know you enough to not like you. Don’t know you enough to like you. But you don’t exactly exude warm and fuzzy feelings. And I wouldn’t really say you were charming during our first encounter.”

“I was just welcoming you.”

“Yeah, well, next time you welcome someone, you might want to take the death out of your eyes.” Platinum released a silent laugh but said nothing. Detta fidgeted a little before saying, “Do you have a name because in my head I just call you Platinum. I could call you Weird Intimidating Death Guy but it takes up too much of my thought process.”

“We wouldn’t want to do that,” he said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice but before Detta could rebut, he continued. “You mean Marko didn’t tell you?” he said, mocking her previous tone.

She looked up at him. “Nope. Didn’t mention you or your other friends.”

He chuckled. “David. Any other nicknames I should know about?”

“Wiley.”

“That could only be Paul.”

“The Brood.”

“The ever-stoic Dwayne.”

“He does know how to speak, right?”

“Very well. He just chooses his words wisely. And, of course, you’ve already met Marko.” Detta looked behind her, scanning the crowd for the other boys. “They’re here somewhere. I have no doubt you’ll run into them later.”

“Do you?”

He looked at her. It wasn’t a glare but it was more than a look. She couldn’t quite read it. “Shouldn’t you be getting to work?”

Detta frowned and rummaged around in her bag, looking for her watch. “Shit.” She gathered herself and started walking away but abruptly turned. “Um, nice…talking to you?” She didn’t quite know what to say. He made her uneasy but she didn’t want to leave without saying anything.

Apparently he felt the same way. “Likewise.” He wore a half smile of politeness. She returned it and then rushed down the boardwalk towards the pier.

“I’m late, I know. I’m sorry!” Detta said as she rushed into the store and flew into the back room to deposit her things. She stood in the doorway of the office, trying to catch her breath.

“Detta, don’t worry. Are you hungry? We were just about to order food.” Max handed her a menu to look over. Italian.

She added her order to the queue and set to work with Max. Stopping only to eat, they finally finished the first ad as the store was closing. It was her job to get it to the paper by deadline the following day. She reminded him it wouldn’t get in tomorrow’s paper but it would be in the day after. He gave his nod of approval and bid her good night.

She had just gotten past the end of the boardwalk, walking along the main street, when a roar of engines began to catch up to her from behind. Detta rolled her eyes, knowing who those engines, those bikes, belonged to. She continued walking until David soared past her, cutting his bike in front of her path, blocking her. He was smiling, really more like smirking, at her as the other boys followed suit, forming a half circle around her with Marko bringing up the rear.

“Looks like you need a ride,” David bellowed over the engines.

“Looks like, yeah, but these,” she slapped her legs, “are still working okay.”

“What’s the matter, Movie Mama? Afraid we’ll bite?” Paul laughed.

She looked at Wiley, now with a proper name of Paul, and scoffed. “I know you would.” He laughed, caught a little off guard. She guessed no girl had ever thrown a retort at him like that before. “And I’m not afraid,” she said defiantly.

“So take the offer.” Detta spun around. It was Marko who spoke this time. She hid a smile from him and turned to look at the other boys. Paul seemed to have a permanent smile etched onto his face. The brooding one, now known as Dwayne, just stared at her.

When her gaze got to David, he hoisted his eyebrows. “Well?”

“Where?”

“A bar. Then Marko can bring you home. Fulfill his offer.”

What had she got to lose, other than her neck? Her intuition was usually spot on and this time no alarms were going off except those around David. Something still wasn’t sitting right with her about him. She just couldn’t put her finger on it. Dwayne seemed more inviting and he hadn’t done anything except breathe in her general direction.

“Come on,” came Marko’s voice from behind her.

She looked back to David who gave her a closed-mouth smile before revving his engine.

“Come on!” Marko’s voice was a little more impatient as he reached for her wrist and pulled her towards the back of his bike, easing her on.

She was about to step on the exhaust pipe to get herself up but Marko quickly stopped her. “Not on that! You’ve never ridden on a bike before, have you?”

“No,” she said flatly, looking around at the other boys, expecting them to laugh.

“Use that,” he said, pointing to a silver rod extending from the bike.

She stepped on it and, using his shoulder to steady herself, hoisted herself behind him, resting her other foot on a similar rod on the other side. She obsessively tucked her dress firmly under her legs, not wanting it flying up around her waist as they rode.

“You’re going to want to get closer. You won’t be able to hold on being that far away,” he said over his shoulder.

It was then Detta realized she was sitting at the very top of the back seat, her body about a foot and a half away from his. She slid forward and put her hands on his waist. He grabbed them and wrapped them tight around his body, joining them on his stomach. She could feel him laugh. His patchwork jacket was rough against her skin but his long curls were a gentle contrast.

She looked at the other boys from behind Marko. They never laughed at her ineptitude on a bike, however David did look rather smug. Paul chuckled but not in a demeaning sort of way and she thought she even saw Dwayne crack a small smile but that disappeared when he revved his engine. David pulled out first, followed by Dwayne and Paul and then Marko. Detta let out a small squeak as the bike lurched forward and she could feel a chuckle in Marko’s stomach. Her dress was starting to fly up and she inched closer to Marko’s body in the hopes that it would keep it down. She clutched her bag closely to her side, trying to keep it from emptying out on the ride.

“Lean into the turn!” Marko yelled as they rounded a corner.

Detta gripped him tighter as the bike leaned sideways, feeling like the tires were going to slip out from underneath them. The wind whipped through her hair, lashing about her face, her eyes drying out. She could feel the vibrations from the bike in her stomach, feel them in Marko. She grabbed tighter at his body as they wove between the few cars that were on the road. She touched his skin briefly and quickly snapped her hand away, burying her face behind his shoulder to hide her blushing cheeks. However, she felt that his skin was like ice, freezing to touch. Probably the air. It was much cooler riding on a motorcycle than just standing around and Detta wished she had a jacket on her, something to cover the goosebumps.

She had no concept of time, not being able to tell how long they were riding but they had arrived at their destination. It looked like a dive bar, a seedy joint on the outskirts of town. They all parked their bikes just outside the door and dismounted. Detta tried to be graceful but it was difficult in a dress. She was trying not to catch it on the skull Marko had situated on the back of his bike. She ran her fingers through her hair, desperately trying to free it of residual wind and painful knots.

“Enjoy the ride, Mama?” Paul walked up to her, laughing.

“Paul, do me a favor.”

“Absolutely.”

“Call me Detta.”

“Can do. So?”

“Not bad. Like riding in a taxi but safer.” This rendered a few chuckles.

“The messy look suits you,” David said as he walked by her and into the bar.

“Thanks,” she replied in a sardonic tone.

They followed David in, Marko walking behind her as they entered. Detta fought back a cringe. By definition she wasn’t girly but she would have to cry foul here. The floor looked to have a layer of dirt covering it; the lights caked in a film of dust. A moose head hung on a far wall next to a well-worn dartboard and a beat up pool table. A few older men sat scattered around the bar, grunting to each other and watching one of the two TV screens on either end of the bar.

“Drinks!” David yelled, raising his eyebrows towards Detta.

“Dirty Martini, extra dirt, two olives.”

David let out a hearty laugh and walked to the bar.

“Back here,” Marko said, placing his fingertips on her back and nudging her in the right direction. She was led to a table in back, along the same wall as the pool table and moose head. She checked the seat before sitting down, afraid to sit in grime, and the other boys followed suit, Marko remaining standing next to her.

Moments later David wandered over balancing five beer bottles between his fingers. “They were out of dirt,” he said, looking at Detta.

Detta reached for the bottle. “Should have figured,” she said before taking a swig. “So is this a regular haunt for you guys? Not really the greatest place to pick up chicks, is it?”

Paul laughed. “Why? You wanna pick up some chicks”

Detta raised an eyebrow to him. “Wouldn’t you like to see that?”

“Front row seats!” He laughed and clapped his hands together.

“This is where we wind down, not get riled up. There are other places we go for that,” David answered, rolling his eyes at Paul.

“I would hope so,” Detta said, muffling a laugh.

She took another pull from the bottle and glanced over at Marko who was talking to Dwayne. So the stoic one does speak. Marko looked young, younger than the rest of them, younger than her, but he didn’t feel young. The way he held himself he seemed to be much older, aged, wiser. His skin was smooth and his eyes a piercing blue, rather chiseled features that should have said innocence but something else muted that. Just like that thing she didn’t like about David, it was the same thing that stole Marko’s innocence. She just couldn’t pinpoint what it was. He was welcoming in a way that differed from the rest of the boys. Paul was welcoming in a grab-your-ass fashion. Dwayne was warm in a silent sort of way and David was as welcoming as a deer at a firing range. It was something she hoped to pinpoint over time. Time? Am I looking to spend more time with them? Do I want to?

Marko was turning his head and Detta quickly looked away, hiding herself behind her bottle and taking a swig. She wasn’t exactly being inconspicuous but it didn’t matter. No one said anything anyway.

Marko gave her a ride home an hour later, without the company of the rest of the boys.

“You know the town pretty well, don’t you?” Detta said as she dismounted once they reached her house.

“I’ve lived here for a while. You alone here?” he asked as he leaned against his bike.

“Yeah but I don’t mind. I can’t work with other people around.” Marko rested coolly against his bike and Detta stood a few feet from him. He gave her a wicked smiled. “Oh no you don’t! You’re going to have to work for the privilege of getting invited into my house. I’m not that easy.”

Marko gave a hearty laugh, not at all disappointed. “I like that. Hard to get.”

“Do you now?”

He crossed his arms over his chest and gave her a playful smile. “I do.”

“Looks like I’ll have to keep it up then. Goodnight, Marko.” She smiled at him before turning towards the door.

“Hopefully not for long,” he called after her.

She turned around, a wide grin spread across her face. He was ready to take off but was still staring her down. “We’ll see.”

He flashed her a wide smile and she returned his wicked grin. He laughed, gave her a quick wave and took off. Detta stood on the stoop watching after him, trying her best not to jump head first into the deep end.


	7. Slammed

“Did you get that advertisement in on time? I kept meaning to ask you but it kept slipping my mind,” Max asked as Detta walked in.

She scrunched her face, trying to remember what month it was, let alone what day. “Yeah. I remember bringing it in when I mailed my column.”

“How’s that going? You seem the worse for wear since your last trip to San Francisco,” he asked, noticing the bags under her eyes and her constant yawning.

“Hey, looks like the girl does own a pair of pants!” Maria called after Detta when she noticed her torn jeans.

Detta laughed. “Might as well take a picture cause this doesn’t happen often. I just couldn’t be bothered tonight.”

“That’s obvious. Your shirt’s falling off,” Maria said, pointing to Detta’s cut-off t-shirt that she had torn the neck out of. The wide collar had managed to get halfway down her arm.

She shrugged and lifted it back up while throwing herself into the chair in the back office.

“So?” came Max’s voice from the doorway.

“Huh? Oh, sorry. All this girly shit has got me drained. I never thought writing an article could be so exhausting but I guess when you pour for hours over something, forcing yourself to get through it, it just take a lot out of you. It’s much easier to write something you know is you instead of pretending to be someone else entirely.”

“You look pleased though.” Through the exhaustion he noticed a slight glimmer in her eye.

She smiled and tossed him the paper. “Take a look at the third editorial.”

Max flipped through the pages until he reached the right one and scanned the page. Detta watched as his eyes widened and moved furiously over the words. When he was done, he looked up at her. “Scathing. But it’s anonymous?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Looks like I’m channeling someone, huh?” she said, a devious smile spreading across her face.

“I’d be careful. Words are a very powerful thing.”

Detta shook her head. “The man’s too thick to catch on so soon. Besides, it’s only in the west coast edition. Unless someone enlightens him about it, it’ll be months before anything happens. Besides, I was careful enough to leave identifying details out.”

“Blackmailing, hush money, sexism…”

“All in a very general context,” she smirked.

“Just be careful. You never know what some of these guys will do.”

**vVv**

Detta had to be shaken awake when everyone was ready to leave for the night. “I have the prototype ready. I just need some words…” she mumbled groggily as Max ushered her out.

“Go home. Get some sleep. Come back tomorrow when you’ve rested.”

She woke up enough to amble over to her car in the nearly empty parking lot and get in. The pier seemed to clear out much faster than the boardwalk, probably because everything closed that much sooner on her end. She threw her bag onto the passenger seat and buckled her seatbelt. She heard an engine in the not-so-distance and shook her head, thinking it was the boys again. Headlights appeared in her window and she turned to look, expecting to see four bikes coming at her. It took her a moment to realize it was a set of headlights, not two separate ones, and they were barreling at her, connected to what looked like a pick-up truck.

Detta’s heart jumped into her throat and her hands fumbled with the seatbelt as the lights got closer and the engine got louder. She couldn’t make out a face behind the wheel or even tell what type of truck it was; the headlights washed everything out. Just before the truck hit, she managed to scramble to the passenger seat but she didn’t make it out of the car. The truck hit with such force that it slammed the car over, rolling it onto its roof. Detta screamed over the squealing tires and lurched again when the truck came rocketing back, plowing into the car a second time.

She just continued to scream and had no way out, not knowing if the truck was going to come back or not. The driver’s side door was embedded on the steering wheel and the car balanced in a precarious position somewhere between its side and the roof, the front end keeping it in place. She continued to scream, hoping someone, anyone, would see the wreck and know that there was someone alive inside.

Then she heard it: her name over her screams. She stopped to listen, trying to hear over her erratic breathing.

“Detta! You in there?”

The voice sounded muffled, not distant, but as if it were screaming through glass.

“I’m here! I’m in here! Get me out!”

Suddenly a face appeared in the jilted windshield. It was Max.

“There’s help on the way, okay? Just hang on. Do you know who that was?”

She was sobbing, blood and tears mixing together. “No. I don’t know anyone here! I’m upside-fucking-down! Get me out!” She started squirming violently and the car started to rock.

“Detta, stop!” Max banged on the windshield. “Stop!” She stopped and looked at his upturned face. “You could trap yourself further. I’m going to go—”

“Don’t leave me!” she wailed, her voice resounding back to her off of crumpled vinyl and shattered glass.

“Okay,” he sat down on the ground, “I won’t go anywhere. I’ll stay right here.” He leaned down onto his arm so he could stay within her sight.

She could hear the ambulance sirens in the distance. They couldn’t get there fast enough. The blood was rushing to her head and her nose started to bleed. She coughed and sputtered, trying to catch her breath. Her head was throbbing and she felt a sharp pain in her leg.

“Everybody away from the car, now!”

Everybody? Who else is here?

Detta looked at Max as he looked away, his face littered with a mixture of contempt and concern. It proved for a rather unusual look.

“Is she awake?” asked the new voice.

“Yes. Her name’s Detta,” a now out of sight Max replied. All she could see was feet.

Then a police officer crouched down and his upside down head came into view. “Detta, you’re going to be okay. The fire department’s on their way, we’re going to get you out of here.” She nodded solemnly. “Where are you hurt?”

Detta released a sob before speaking. “My leg hurts, my head. I can’t stop my nose…” she coughed, slopping away blood from her face.

“Can you feel your legs? Wiggle your toes?”

She nodded. She could hear commotion, more sirens, and the officer looked away before standing up, leaving only his feet in sight.

“We’re going to need the cutters!”

“Shit, look at the door!”

The foreign voices kept flooding her ears as more and more people arrived. A fireman crouched into her line of sight.

“We’re going to have to cut away the door, darling, okay? Hang in there.”

“We can’t get to her on the other side?”

“Window’s crushed against the ground and we don’t wanna flip the car with her in it.”

“Don’t pull her out ’til we get to her!”

“What do we look like?”

An argument between a paramedic and a fireman perhaps? She didn’t know nor did she care. She just wanted out. She heard a crunching sound, much like a thick piece of aluminum, as they started to crack into the door.

“Sweetheart, I’m going to need you to look the other way and close your eyes. We need to light up a torch.”

Detta didn’t need to be told twice. As soon as she did, she could feel sparks from the flames hitting metal as they tried to melt the door away. The car rocked as they tugged and minutes later, the door fell clattering to the ground, the sound of nails on a chalkboard as it was dragged away. She looked towards the now gaping hole and there stood two paramedics.

“Hey there, Detta. We’re going to help you, okay? Where are you hurt?” asked the first as he reached in and clasped a brace around her neck.

She rehashed where her pain was and they looked her over quickly, shining their flashlights where their eyes alone couldn’t see. “Can you work with us? Help us get you out?”

She nodded and slowly started to pull herself out of her entrapment. The medics kept telling her to go slowly and take it easy. When she finally made it to the door, one of the medics wrapped his arms around her chest and pulled her the rest of the way while the other held her head. They quickly placed her on a backboard, strapped her in and put her on a gurney. She couldn’t see anywhere but straight up, her head fastened tightly in an immobilizer. Max’s face appeared over her.

“I’ll follow the ambulance, okay?”

Detta tried to nod but couldn’t and then Max was shunted from view by a man with a penlight, shining it into her eyes. The medics spouted jargon she couldn’t understand. She must have looked frightening, blood covering her face from her bloodied nose and head wound. Her body lurched as she was pushed into the ambulance, the medics and a police officer following her in. The doors slammed shut and the bus drove away.

“Detta, can you remember anything that happened?” the officer asked.

“She’s steady.”

“I remember everything.”

“What happened?”

“Bleeding’s controlled. Doesn’t seem to be any internal damage.”

“Docs’ll have to look at her.”

“The parking lot was pretty empty. I didn’t notice anything unusual. Got in my car, buckled my seat belt.”

“There was a truck?”

Detta, again, tried to nod but failed. “Yes. I think. I didn’t notice it until it was coming at me. I tried to get out of the car but couldn’t.”

“Lucky you didn’t. You would have been crushed. Did you get a make or model of the truck?”

She tried to shake her head. “No. The headlights washed everything out. I couldn’t even see the driver. But you might want to start on trucks with front end damage and go from there.”

The officer gave her a humoring smile. “You said you tried to get out. Is that how you ended up in the passenger seat?”

Detta swallowed hard. “Yes.”

“Out of the way!” the medic yelled as he pushed towards to back of the bus. The ambulance had stopped and she could hear voices as the doors opened.

“Stats!” one of them yelled.

At that point, Detta stopped paying attention. Everyone around her was speaking a language she couldn’t understand. The doctors asked her the same questions everyone else had and her story started to become a muscle memory. She just wanted to be in her own bed.

**vVv**

“I need your permission to release your information to…” the nurse trailed off and pointed the clipboard towards a window in the trauma room.

Detta looked up from the gash on her leg towards the window. Outside was Max who, by the looks of it, had called Maria who was standing next to him. Butclumped behind them were…the boys? No, couldn’t be. Why?

“My boss. Max. I don’t have anyone else you could talk to. Just him.”

Detta watched as the nurse walked out of the room to a worried-looking Max and took him aside. She watched as all heads turned to follow him but Marko’s, slumped in a chair, returned to look at her much sooner than the rest. Detta gave him a small smile but winced as the nurse tended to her wound.

“You’re lucky, you know. No broken bones, just a few scratches.”

“I’d say that looks a little more severe than a scratch,” she said, motioning towards her thigh and bringing her hand up to touch the butterfly at her temple.

“Be thankful this is the worst of it,” the nurse continued.

The other nurse walked back in, followed by Max and Maria. Detta leaned back a bit, attempting to look behind them but there was no one else there. The boys were gone.


	8. The Visitor

Detta hadn’t strayed from her house all week and it was only partially due to fear. The doctors recommended that she just rest, especially the psychiatrist. He had said that even though she had little physical harm, the mental anguish of knowing that someone was trying to kill her could be overwhelming. Detta didn’t need a doctor to tell her that. They gave her Valium but the full prescription bottle sat idly on the sink in her bathroom. She could only work with a clear head and her boss didn’t care what happened to her. If she missed a column, she was canned. He called her up two days after the accident to tell her so after San Francisco relayed the information to him. The only time she left the house was to walk down to the mailbox.

Thankfully she was in relatively little physical pain. She had a minor concussion but recovered from that quickly. Her nosebleed stopped once she was uprighted and the gash on her head wasn’t as severe as she thought. A deep scar wasn’t expected from it and she didn’t even need the butterfly anymore. Didn’t keep it from being ugly though. The bruise was scabbed over and she was black and blue into her eye and cheek. She couldn’t sleep on the right side of her face because of it. She still had bruises on her legs from being tossed around; same with her arms but the worst of it all was the gouge on her upper thigh. They said it was probably something from the console that had cut her like that but she now had a four inch stitched up hole on the outside of her leg. It didn’t hurt, not even to the touch. It just wasn’t that nice to look at. The doctors said the scar would fade considerably but she’d always be able to see it. But that didn’t stop her from rubbing vitamin E cream on it in the hopes that she could make it fade faster.

Max had stopped by a few times to check up on her and so they could work on his projects. He had become a surrogate father to her since moving here. She felt that he was actually watching out for her and was genuinely concerned about her well-being. Maria was right. He was a really good person. He had driven her home from the hospital the evening after (he always seemed rather absent during the day) and he had a bouquet of flowers waiting for her on her doorstep. It eased the tension that mounted while in the car. She couldn’t help but see oncoming headlights as ones being aimed at her. Eventually she gave up and finished the ride with her eyes closed. When he came over to work, he always brought with him enough food to feed a battalion and forced her to keep what was left. She tried to picture her editor doing the same but scoffed at the image. He would sooner be the one behind the wheel of the truck than help her recover.

But now Detta had the trouble of obtaining a mode of transportation. She would have settled on a bicycle but that might have proved exhausting trying to get to San Francisco and back. Max suggested renting a car. Since she didn’t need to get up there that often, there wouldn’t be any sense in her buying a car now. If she needed one, she should just rent. He even offered to take her grocery shopping so she didn’t have to lug sacks of food on a bicycle. Detta thought it sounded like a good idea. She was thankful for being a city girl and being accustomed to walking. If she weren’t, she figured she’d be rather cranky right about now.

Detta sat on her couch in her cut-off shorts and torn t-shirt wandering through stations, absentmindedly twirling a piece of hair around her finger; a habit she picked up after the accident, a mixture of anxiety and boredom. As she came upon a sitcom of some sort, a soft knock resonated from the door. Detta frowned, not expecting anyone, and pulled herself up from the couch. Keeping the chain on, she cracked the door and there stood Marko, fingertips in his pockets. She closed the door again so she could undo the chain. For the first time in a long while, she was worried about what she looked like. Aside from her bum outfit, her hair was thrown up all helter-skelter, she wore no make-up and the bruising on her face was very prominent. But she opened the door anyway, leaning her head against it.

He gave her a small smile and shrugged his shoulders. “Thought I’d stop by and see how you were doing.”

She gave him a closed-mouth smile. “I suppose you expect to be invited in then, huh?”

“Should I mow your lawn? Would that be enough work?”

Smiling, she rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Wiseass.” She stood aside, giving him room to walk by. “Come in.”

Marko hesitated and walked in, looking around as he did, eying her living room. “Nice place.”

Detta closed the door behind him. “Thanks. Sorry for the way I look. I wasn’t expecting you.”

He turned around and looked at her with awe, a laugh forming on his lips. “You were hit by a truck. Twice. I’m surprised you’re still in one piece.”

“I guess.” The last thing she wanted to talk about was that night. “You want something to drink?” Marko shook his head. “Where are the rest of them?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Somewhere. The boardwalk, probably.”

“You could sit if you want,” she pointed to the couch but instead Marko walked out onto the deck. “Or not,” she mumbled under her breath. She followed him outside and watched as he walked to the banister. “You want me to turn on the light?” she asked, reaching for the switch.

“No, don’t. It’s nicer in the dark.”

Detta dropped her hand and joined him on the deck, standing just beside him. She could feel it. He had a million questions he wanted to ask her about that night but he was fighting it back. He knew she didn’t want to talk about it.

“How are you liking Santa Carla?”

Detta could see him cringe when he was done speaking. “Well, aside from the maniacs trying to spin their tires on my face, it’s pretty nice,” she laughed.

“I’m sorry. It just came—”

“It’s okay. I like it. I like living on the beach. My lungs are thanking me for moving someplace with fresh air.”

“Is New York really that bad?”

“You’ve never been there?”

“Wouldn’t of asked if I had.”

“Thanks. Well, there’s a very stark difference when you go out to Westchester than when you’re in the city. Don’t get me wrong. I loved it there but no one should have to get used to the smell of urine and garbage. It’s not the cleanest of cities but it’s one of the few places I can really call home.”

“Sounds like you miss it.”

“I do. The adjustment’s been a little difficult but I’ve managed. What about you?”

“What about me?”

“You tell me.”

“Well, I’m twenty-two. I’ve lived here for a few years. My parents died ages ago. A car accident. I’ve known the guys since I came here. We’re all pretty close—”

Detta laughed.

“What’s so funny?”

“There’s a lot you’re leaving out.”

“You sound so sure.”

“I am. You’re an old soul. I can feel it. You have this depth that not many people our age have.”

“I could say the same about you.”

“You could but would you mean it?”

“Just like you can feel it on me, I can feel it on you. You’re older than your years.”

“But can you remember?” Detta looked over at him and could see his brow furrow in the dark.

“Remember?”

“Those lost years where that feeling comes from. Who you were in those lives.”

“Sometimes.”

She tried to find his eyes in the dark but it was difficult. Only the outline of his face was clear enough. “You were at the hospital that night.” He looked over at her, finding her eyes with ease as if he could see in the dark. “With the others. But you didn’t stay. Why were you there?”

“The same reason I’m here.” Detta’s face flushed and she was thankful it was hidden under the cover of darkness. He inched closer to her as he spoke. “Do I still frighten you?”

Detta’s voice quivered, catching in her throat. “You never did.”

“I should.”

“Why?”

Her last word was a whisper, barely making it over her lips. Marko was close enough to her now that she could make out his features; finally see his eyes. They were staring directly into her’s, reading, searching. Was this something she wanted? She gripped the banister as Marko leaned closer, Detta involuntarily moving in to greet his body. She felt his fingertips brush the top of her hand and, with feather-light ease, they moved up her arm, sending goosebumps ricocheting through her body. She looked down at his hand, watching it move and then looked back up at his face, her eyes magnets to his own. She tilted her head and leaned towards his lips, short quick breaths running out of her mouth.

They lingered there for a moment, lips just barely brushing each other’s until they pressed together. His was a soft kiss but there was something animalistic lurking just beneath that tenderness, something that, if she allowed, she knew would come roaring out. They held steady in that kiss before Marko backed away slightly, teasing her, the corners of his mouth turning up ever so finitely into a smile. Her eyes shifted from his lips to his eyes. She wanted more of him. It was an attraction unparalleled to anyone she had ever met. Never had she craved someone. She returned that dubious smile of his and leaned back in, rejoining their lips. More passionate this time, Detta inhaled deeply through her nose, feeling her breath being sucked away by him. She instinctively moved her hand up to his neck, inching her fingers into his hair. She didn’t want to let go. Didn’t want this to end. One of his hands rested gently on her waist and she fought back a wince of pain, he having found one of her many bruises. Their kisses lightened, neither daring to go too far. He brought his other hand up, brushing lightly against her face but it was more than enough pressure to disrupt her pleasure.

“Ahhh…” Detta pulled away and bit her lip, fighting back tears of pain. “I’m sorry. It’s still really painful.” She wasn’t sure what to do so she walked back inside, instinctively covering the right side of her face.

Marko walked in after her, grabbed onto her arm and spun her around to face him. He looked at her, looked at her bruises that snuck out from under her hand. Without shoes on, she had to look up to catch him in the eye. Only a couple of inches but it was enough for her to feel like he had the power. He gently grabbed her hand and removed it from her face, bringing it down to her side.

He was shaking his head. “Don’t cover it up.”

She let out a nervous laugh. “You’re not going to go Shakespeare on me, are you?”

He smiled a reassuring smile and lightly touched his forehead to her’s. “Only if you supply the collar.”

They both laughed but Detta’s smile faded quickly. “You need to leave.” It wasn’t a question and she wasn’t commanding. She could just sense it on him. He was apprehensive.

“I do,” and he gave her a sad smile. “Come with me tomorrow night. Let me show you where I live.”

Detta could feel the panic rising in her body. It was bad enough getting in a car but on a motorcycle? You’re so open and vulnerable on it. “I don’t know.”

He leaned in, his lips brushing her ear. “You’re safe with me.” His breath sent a sensation down her spine, echoing a want and a need but her anxiety was eased by his voice. She didn’t need to answer. He could read it on her face. “Meet us at the boardwalk when you’re out of work.”

Their lips didn’t lock before he left but their eyes did. It was a substantial farewell. He left without either of them speaking any more. He felt she could communicate with him on a different level. They could read each other without words. Their bodies emitted what they wanted to say to each other. She listened as he took off on his motorcycle and couldn’t help but wonder why she didn’t hear him drive up. And us? Did he live with those other boys? Why couldn’t she get the taste of him out of her mouth? She didn’t want to. She brought her fingers up to her lips, feeling the remnants of that kiss. His body felt so cold but she had never felt such heat. She needed to control herself. She mustn’t let her emotions get the best of her. That’s how a person gets hurt. But she desperately wanted to feel the pleasure of his pain.


	9. Night Ride

It was closing in on one a.m. by the time Detta reached the boardwalk but she had a feeling this was still early for those boys. The crowd had started to thin out some amongst the rides and games but not so much. The bonfires were still rolling and she could smell the alcohol on the air. Marko didn’t give her a specific place to meet them but she wasn’t worried. They were bound to see her, or she them. As much as they all looked like the rest of the punks around here, their presence stood out from the rest of them. Detta took extra care to cover up the bruises on her face, and Max took notice. Like a doting father, he didn’t approve of her associating with those boys. ‘Be careful,’ he had said. ‘Boys will be boys.’ If anything, Detta was overly cautious and sometimes she didn’t want to be. She didn’t care about the bruises on her arms, and the ones on her legs were hidden mostly by her dress and boots anyway. Since no one was staring, she guessed no one else noticed either, or else didn’t care.

“Damn girl. Looks like you were hit by a truck,” Paul yelled to her.

Detta looked forward and there in front of her sat the boys on their motorcycles, a stark contrast to the carousel music playing behind them. Granted, to her, the music sounded sinister so it matched.

“Funny, Paul. That’s funny beyond laughter,” she retorted, a sarcastic look on her face.

“What can I say? I’m a funny guy. Look great though for…getting hit by a truck.”

“Um, thanks?”

“Healing nicely.”

Detta turned to David, his look one of monotone. It didn’t really show much emotion. “There wasn’t much damage to heal. Just lucky, I guess.”

“Very.” She didn’t like his tone and couldn’t tell if this was his usual snide self or if it was something deeper. She looked over at Marko who had been staring at her intently. She raised her eyebrows in greeting and he released a small smile. “We ready to go?” David called out to no one in particular and then looked at Detta. “Unless you’re going to fly, I’d recommend getting on a bike.”

Detta fathomed she didn’t know David very well but from what she did know, he was being extra bitter to her tonight. “Thanks for that Captain Obvious. I don’t know what I’d do without you,” she replied sardonically as she walked over to Marko’s bike.

As she mounted behind him, she leaned her lips towards his ear and whispered, “What the hell’s his problem?”

Marko leaned back and said,” Don’t know. He’s been like that since your accident. Maybe he cares and doesn’t know how to handle it. It’d be a new feeling for him to master.”

“Glad I could be the first,” she said, pursing her lips.

Marko leaned down to adjust a strap on his boot and on his way back up brushed his fingers up her boot and onto her knee. Detta gave him a sly smile.

“Slick.”

“You know it.”

“Lets go!” David yelled over the engines and this time Marko led the way, giving Detta a start when his bike pushed forward.

She wrapped her arms tightly around him, this time not clamping her hands but wrapping them around as far as they would go, gripping onto his sides with opposite hands. This time she didn’t pull her hand back when she felt his skin but kept it in place, reveling in the feeling that was echoing through her fingertips. Her body was pressed up as close to his as she could get it, pushing her legs against either side of his. She wouldn’t lie. She wanted to touch him like that but she also had that lingering fear of those oncoming headlights. She buried her chin into his shoulder and looked ahead but the smooth ride of tires on pavement didn’t last long. She held her breath as they soared down a flight of stairs and thudded onto the beach.

She didn’t like what she saw. A bonfire with a makeshift ramp positioned in front of it. The main road was now completely gone from sight.

“We’re not going to jump that.” It was a defiant statement with no trace of a question.

“Hold on!”

He aimed his bike straight at the ramp and Detta quickly realized that yes, they were about to launch themselves over a bonfire. Her eyes widened and just before they hit the ramp, she screamed and buried her face in his back. She felt the bike lift off the ground and, a few seconds later, rejoined the sand with a thud as it continued on.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” he called back to her.

She didn’t answer but slowly lifted her hidden face only to see they were about to weave their way under the tail end of the boardwalk. As much as she wanted to hide her head again, something pulled at Detta, told her to keep her eyes open and looking ahead. And she did. Her stomach rose and fell as they wove in and out of the wooden pillars, soon reaching a wooded area that dropped and turned and dipped. But Marko, or any of the other boys, didn’t slow down. She guessed they had done this hundreds of times and could probably travel the path with their eyes closed. Just before exiting the edge of the wood, Detta loosened up a bit, releasing her vise grip on Marko’s body and sat up a little straighter. She looked behind her and saw the other three boys close behind, Paul and Dwayne with huge grins on their faces. David looked intent on ending the ride.

Detta brushed the hair from her eyes and faced forward again, realizing they had come upon an open stretch. Up ahead of them was a light that seemed to grow brighter and then fade in a perpetual repetition. A lighthouse? She could feel Marko starting to slow his bike down as they drew closer to the light, like moths to the flame, and they eventually stopped. Detta remained on the bike, almost winded from exhilaration.

“Looks like you started to enjoy the ride,” Dwayne said as he walked past her and to the rickety set of stairs in front of them.

“Guess I did,” she said after him.

Detta was finger-combing her hair when David walked past. “Ugly scar.”

She looked down and realized that her dress had ridden high enough to reveal the stitches on her thigh. “Thanks for noticing.” He smirked at her and followed Dwayne to the stairs.

“But a nice set of stems!” Paul hooted as he trotted by.

“Thanks, Paul.”

“Anytime,” and he disappeared down the stairs.

It was rather loud up there, what with the crashing waves but she couldn’t tell where they were.

As if reading her thoughts, Marko answered her unasked question. “It’s called Hudson’s Bluff. We like seclusion, like someone I know.”

He helped Detta dismount from his bike and she gave him a broad grin. “I have no idea who you’re talking about,” she said jokingly.

At that moment, she wanted more than anything to kiss him, throw him onto the ground and ravage him out in the open air. Extra eyes be damned. She didn’t know what came over her when she was around him. Since their kiss, she felt like a teenage kid, or an animal. There probably wasn’t that much of a difference. But she controlled it the best she could, not wanting to make the move. She still wanted to play the hard-to-get game.

He led her up and over a set of old wooden stairs and down onto a small bridge that rested just above the water line. She could feel the cold spray on her legs. Next was the maneuver around the chain link fence and through the darkened cave tunnel.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Home! Watch your step.”

Marko went into the opening first and held out a hand to help Detta down the stone stairs and into the…lobby? Oil drums were filled with fire all around the cave. Numerous knickknacks and baubles hung from all places, candles littered what looked like an old fountain in the center of the room, posters and pictures of rock stars were all over the walls, a beat box sat in a corner, ramshackle furniture was scattered about and there were numerous tunnels leading to who-knows-where.

“What is this place?” Detta asked in sheer awe.

“Home,” David answered. “Used to be a hotel around the turn of the century. Popular place too. It’s a shame, really, but thanks to that earthquake in 1906, we now have a place to stay.”

“You sound almost nostalgic.”

“Maybe I am,” he said as he threw himself into a high-backed chair.

“You guys live here? Are you runaways?”

All four of them laughed. Marko answered her. “Just like you like your house, we like our cave. It’s just a preference.”

“You must eat a lot of fresh food then.”

“Loads,” Paul laughed wickedly. “Speaking of food—”

“We’ll eat later,” David cut him short, “after Detta leaves. You’re not hungry, are you?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Marko ushered her over to a tattered couch to sit her down but he remained standing. She looked up as him. “Do you ever just relax?”

“I do. Just not right now.”

“He’s just a little nervous,” Dwayne said, sitting down next to her.

“About what?” she asked, looking from Dwayne to Marko.

Dwayne just laughed silently and Paul chuckled out loud. David grabbed a bottle from a nearby shelf and offered it to Detta. She eyed it suspiciously. It looked like a wine bottle decorated in jewels and worn gold. David caught her frowning at it and pointed it at her. “Drink?”

She gave him a soured look. “No thanks.”

“You should try it. It’s good wine.”

“No,” she said flatly.

“It’s the least I could offer you…”

“Insistent, aren’t you? Still, no.”

“Afraid?”

“That’s not going to work this time.”

David smirked and uncorked the bottle, taking a long swig from it, looking to be savoring every bit of flavor it contained. “Last chance.”

“No need. I’m good.” Detta looked around at the group of boys and realized she felt rather closed in upon. They were all gathered around her expectantly, waiting to see what she would do. She looked at them nervously, not quite sure what to say. “So…how long have you guys been living here?” she asked as she stood up and began to wander around the sunken lobby, inspecting the delicacies that were scattered about.

“We’ve lost count. It’s been a while,” Dwayne answered, reclining further onto the couch. Paul got up and jumped up onto the fountain, crouched down and pulled up a second beat box, like pulling a rabbit from a hat.

“Will that play without being plugged in?” she asked, looking at Paul fiddle with the buttons.

“Have faith, Mama.” He pushed play on the box and the wail of a guitar rang out of the speakers and Paul began to rock on. “Batteries, girl!” he said as he head-banged to the tune.

“We make our own fun,” Marko said, walking up to her. “Some of us are more easily amused than others,” he whispered into her ear. She smiled and continued walking around the cave.

“So you guys have known each other for a while?”

“A long while,” Paul answered, laughing and playing his air guitar.

“You guys have your own rooms…areas…not sure what you call them.”

“You could say that.” Detta gave a jump when David answered from right next to her. She didn’t even hear him walk over. But then again, it was hard to hear much of anything over Paul’s stereo. “We all have certain corners and our rooms, if you want to call them that, are down different tunnels. We’re close but sometimes a man needs his space.”

“Aren’t you worried about cave-ins or another earthquake?”

“That’s something we’ll deal with when it happens,” David said as he continued his walk around the fountain.

She noticed a few books in a pile stacked on the floor and crouched down to rummage through them. Her fingers gently touched each spine and froze when they came to the last one.

“My god. This is an original Dr. Faustus. Who’s is this?” She turned, wide-eyed, to Marko.

“Those are Dwayne’s.”

“You found my collection,” he said, getting up from the couch and walking towards her. “I only collect originals. Makes the read that much more interesting. The older something is, the more alive it feels. You know what I mean?”

Inadvertently, Detta looked straight at Marko. “Yes, I do.” She quickly recovered and looked back to Dwayne before replacing his book.

“Come on, man. I’m hungry!” Paul bellowed from atop the fountain.

“That boy has no patience,” Dwayne mumbled as he walked back over to Paul. “In a few minutes, man. Don’t worry. You’ll eat tonight.”

“You guys eat rather late, don’t you?” she addressed Marko.

“Well, when you don’t have the most normal of sleep patterns, you don’t have normal eating patterns either.”

“We need to get going soon, Marko,” David yelled from across the lobby.

Detta rolled her eyes at him and he just continued to stare at her. “Guess that’s my cue, huh?”

“He’s just not—” Marko tried to cover but Detta cut him short.

“It’s okay. I should get going anyway.”

Marko looked disappointed but he wasn’t going to fight. “I’ll take you home then.” He ushered her to the entrance and made his way up first, turning to help her.

“Night, Movie Mama! Watch out for those trucks!”

“Couth as always, Paul. Thanks.”

He just laughed and continued rocking to the beat of his own drummer. Dwayne gave her a farewell nod and David continued to stare but just couldn’t let her leave without saying something. “Enjoy the rest of your night, Detta.”

She stared at him, searching for some specific emotion on his face but she found none. His voice sounded hollow, deliberately void of anything. She nodded at him. “David.”

She turned back around and took Marko’s outstretched hand to help herself into the entrance. Once they were at the bikes, Detta couldn’t help herself. “What’s the deal with your friend? He keeps dripping disdain on my boots.”

“He’s not always like that but lately something seems to be getting to him. We can’t figure out what, though. All I can say is let it slide. He’ll just feed off of your reactions.”

The ride home with Marko erased all of her angry feelings towards David and renewed her teenage lust for Marko. She wanted nothing more than him when he walked her to her door. He leaned in close, forcing her back up against the door, him leaning on his arm that was placed next to her head.

She looked into his eyes and smiled. “No invite tonight, buddy.”

He just smiled his patient smile at her and laughed a little. “I’ll just have to sneak in through your window then.”

She chuckled a throaty chuckle. “I’d like to see you try.”

He moved his lips closer to her’s. “Is that a challenge?”

Their lips brushed against each other’s, their bodies pressing together. “Maybe it is.”

He tilted his head in and kissed her, she bringing her chin up to meet his mouth. Their kiss this time was seductive, taunting. They both wanted something they knew they weren’t going to get.

He pulled his mouth away just far enough to speak. “I might have to take you up on that offer.”

She looked at him hungrily and gently clamped her teeth onto his bottom lip, pulling him towards her into another embrace. He released a moan into her mouth and it tumbled down her throat, into a place deep inside her that wanted to devour him whole. He ran his hands through her hair, gently grabbing at it, trying desperately to keep himself in control. He wrapped his arm around her waist with every intention of lifting her up when she yelped in pain. He had found yet another one of her many unhealed bruises.

She rested her forehead on his shoulder and he placed his chin on the top of her head. “You’ll have to tell me when that’s gone.”

“I won’t have to tell you. You’ll know,” she said, a sly smirk spreading across her face.

He brushed his hands gently on the good side of her face, taking her every feature in, drowning in her eyes. He kissed her again, cupping her face in his gloved hands. “I’ll see you.”

“Soon,” she whispered into his mouth.

He gave her one last peck before turning back to his bike. She opened the door and, as she was walking in, he revved his engine to get her attention. When she looked, he smiled at her and sped off. She couldn’t help but feeling…frustrated.

Before she fell asleep, she couldn’t help but think of his hands on her, that powerful feeling she felt when they kissed, his mouth on her, his teeth nipping at her skin. She wanted his skin against her’s, feel his tongue on her body. She wanted him to release that fire that he had burning inside him, the heat amidst the cold, all onto her. She wanted to tear at him, get pleasure in the pain he would instill upon her and she on him. It was as if she had found a piece of her that had been missing. She released herself, all of those ravaged images running through her head and she couldn’t help but think how animalistic she felt. And how, for the first time in years, she felt truly alive.


	10. Explanation

There was a pounding somewhere in Detta’s head, this hard knocking. It’s sound rose and fell with her breathing and she felt herself rising, coming out of her pleasant state of sleep. She was lingering on the brink of awake when she heard it again, a knock but not on wood. On glass. The beat would rise and fall at uneven intervals. She moaned, disgruntled at not being able to pinpoint where it was coming from. Then came the muffled yells, screams through glass. It sounded like the noise was calling to her.

She slowly opened her eyes, at first not knowing where she was but once the sleep started to drift away, reality started to flood back in. She had felt boxed in in her office so she moved the typewriter to the dining room table. It felt like she had been working on the same column for ages. What was happening to her sense of time? Ever since she moved to Santa Carla, it was nonexistent. As her brain began to come more to the waking side, that same knocking came to her again and the yelling of what sounded like her name through glass.

She lifted her head off of her arm so her eyes could see over the typewriter but she wasn’t expecting such a view. Detta let out a shot scream when she saw the outlines of what could only be Marko and Paul on her small patio. Still startled, she stood up from her chair and flicked on the outside light. The two boys winced in its brightness but stood firm, waiting to be let in.

“Damn, girl. You sleep like a corpse,” Paul said as he walked in front of Marko through the open slider.

“Thanks,” she replied sarcastically, trying to rub the sleep from her eyes.

Marko followed him in, looking pleasingly at Detta. “You need to stop pulling these disappearing acts,” he said as he subtly brushed a finger upon the exposed skin of her thigh.

“Yeah, Marko starts to twitch if you’re gone for too long,” Paul chimed in from her couch.

“Is that so?” Detta looked over at Paul and he nodded enthusiastically while he reclined, situating his feet on her coffee table and proceeded to flip through the TV channels.

Her gaze turned back to Marko. “Twitch, do you?”

“He’s exaggerating.”

“Mmmhmm.” A smirk spread across her face. He began tickling her thigh with his fingertip, running it quickly and lightly over her skin until she fell into him, giggling madly. She scratched at the spot he’d just addled. “I’ll get you back.”

He smirked. “No you won’t.”

“Don’t be so sure of that.” Still holding her to him, Marko leaned in to kiss her but was stopped short by a hard pounding at the front door. “Who the hell is that?”

“Shit.” Paul righted himself on the couch. “I forgot. David and Dwayne are at the front door.”

“You forgot?” Detta marched over to the door and swung it open. There stood a very angry looking David and a complacent Dwayne.

She stepped aside to let them through and when David walked by, he brought his face down to Detta’s, their noses nearly touching. “Thanks for leaving us outside,” he growled.

Detta was taken aback. “Me? I had no idea you were even there! Paul was the one that didn’t mention anything. Christ. If that’s how you’re going to act you can just leave.” She remained planted, her arms crossed over her chest, staring David down, daring him to make a move.

He merely looked at her and smirked snidely “I’ll be good.”

She rolled her eyes. “Can I get anyone anything?” she asked as she walked into the kitchen and threw open the refrigerator door. Paul took a soda but that was all. She tossed the can to him and walked back over to the dining room and flicked on the light, returning to her seat. “So what can I do for you guys?” she asked, pecking at the typewriter.

“You’re very elusive.” Detta looked up. It was Dwayne from a chair in the living room. Marko had walked over to the rest of them.

“What do you mean?”

“We see you once and then it’s days before you’re around again.”

“And you’re worried?”

“No,” he answered flatly. “Curious.”

“What do you do during that time?” Marko asked her.

What was this about? Was this to appease Marko? Ease his mind that his latest interest wasn’t running off with someone else? Or maybe they just wanted to know more about her. Up until now, she had told them very little.

Paul laughed. “Yeah, are you a spy?”

Detta couldn’t help but chuckle as she turned to face them. “No, I’m not a spy,” she answered as she got up and walked over to the island, leaning her hip against it. She crossed her arms and inhaled deeply. “I’m a columnist for the National Tribune. I used to write pieces about empowered women, politics, sports, anything really. The draw for it was that it was intelligent and came from the female species. I guess you could say it was a critique, of sorts, of the events of that week, or one in particular if it was major enough. It was witty, funny. A lot of people read it.”

“And now?” Dwayne asked.

“Now I write fluff. Stupid shit about women’s fashion, celebrities, gossip, pure trash.” Detta was disgusted. To just mention it made her sneer.

“Why the change?” Marko asked her, his eyes searching for an answer.

Detta sighed heavily. “I caught my boss in a position she shouldn’t have been in. Literally. And he’s a paranoid man. He paid me to keep my mouth shut and transferred me out here. The switch in topic came not long after that.”

“Still doesn’t explain all your time gone,” Marko said. His tone wasn’t accusatory, but he was reaching for something.

“I never used to have to research for my column. Catching new game was easy. I just had to give my take on it. I could turn out a superb article in an hour. Now, I’m grasping at straws. He gave me this topic because he knew it would be difficult for me. I feel my IQ dropping by the day. I’m up for days at a time, often with nothing to come by it. This,” Detta walked over to the typewriter, wrenched out the paper in it and threw it at Marko, “this is what I’ve come up with in seventy-two hours.”

“It’s just the paragraph.”

“Exactly. My office is stacked with so many fashion magazines I could paper the walls with them. The man is trying to get me to quit, force me out so he can have a guilt-free conscience.” Detta shook her head. “But I’m not bowing out that easily. I always said, if I go down, I’m taking people with me.”

“What do you mean?” asked Paul, finally muting the TV.

“I still write my column but under the guise of an anonymous letter to the editor. I had to change it up a bit so it’s not blatantly obvious who’s writing it. I drop hints in the east coast column for people to pick up the west coast version too. The two editions are different but, from what I’m being told, West has gotten a surge in distribution and lots of letters coming in about that anonymous letter-writer who can’t keep her mouth shut.

“That man has enough dirt on himself to bury a body and I’m the one that’s digging the grave.”

“He must have done some pretty bad things.”

Detta looked up, almost forgetting she had an audience when Marko made that statement. All eyes were focused intently on her, except David’s. He was staring at his hands, fidgeting with his gloves.

“Other than screw around on his wife and pay me to shut up? He runs an illegal gambling ring with a local low-level Mafioso; he launders money from every which country, his penchant for sexual harassment is astounding. And I’ve heard stories of him raping some former secretaries.

“Oh, I don’t write about him directly, of course. It would be too obvious. I generalize, beat around the bush and insinuate, but never name. He’ll take a big fall in the end but me, I’m just pushing the dominoes down.”

Marko handed back her column and she placed it on the island. “Sounds like you have a lot on your hands.”

“I do, but I manage.”

“How about now? Can you manage coming out with us?”

Detta chuckled innocently. “This,” she held up the paper, “needs to be about six inches longer in about, oh, twelve hours. I’ve been working on it three days. It’s not looking good.”

“Tough spot, girl,” Paul called to her.

“Is that what you guys really wanted to know?”

“Houdini should be asking you for advice. We were just curious,” Dwayne reiterated.

“And it gave us a change of scenery,” Paul said. Dwayne shot him a look. “What? I’m just being honest!” Paul looked at her. “We were bored!”

Detta laughed. “Thanks for your honesty, Paul.”

“We should be going, leave you to your work,” David said, lifting himself from the couch and moving towards the door. The rest of the boys followed.

Marko walked up to her and smiled at her. She rolled her eyes and smiled back. “Maybe some day you’ll tell me about you.”

He chuckled. “Maybe.”

Detta mouthed the word ‘maybe’ as he leaned in to kiss her. She felt that surge run through her, the fire that he released in her, but it was dampened by the presence of the other boys.

“Marko,” David called to him, standing with the door open and waiting impatiently.

He broke their kiss but lingered for a moment, just looking at Detta before he joined the other boys outside. David was the last to leave.

“Good luck on your article,” he said snidely, the corner of his mouth turning up in a twisted smile.

“Thanks,” she said flatly as she watched him close the door.

David bothered her. It was as if he didn’t give a damn, which was fine but he couldn’t even feign interest? Where was this animosity towards her coming from and why? She mulled over the potential answers but another thought came rushing through her head, this one making her smile. That was the first time Marko had kissed her in front of his friends. What did this mean? Was he marking his territory? Staking his claim? Why now? Why not before? Was it to reassure her, and the other boys, that something was happening between the two of them? She doubted that was on the forefront of the their minds but maybe it was a subconscious act. Whatever it was, she wasn’t going to let herself get in too deep too quickly. The pain from that wasn’t worth the pleasure.


	11. Hold It Back

“Girl, you need to get out more,” Maria said as she walked into the office and saw Detta sitting with her head in her hand, tapping a pen on the desk. “How often do you get out?”

Detta looked up at her, a half-lucid look on her face. She sighed. “Not often enough. This switch that I’ve had to make in my column is putting more pressure on me than I thought. My editor calls me when something doesn’t sound right and keeps me on the phone until it does, calls me all hours of the night about my article, tells me to read more women’s magazines. I can’t stand it.”

“You know what? I’m not taking no for an answer. I’m taking you out. I know this great club just off the boardwalk. We’ll have a few drinks, get you some fun.”

Detta smiled at her. “Thanks, Maria. Sounds good.”

Maria scurried off back to work when Max walked in. Not that he would have minded their conversation; Maria just didn’t want to give Max the wrong impressions of her. He walked into the office and quietly shut the door behind him. He dragged the spare chair over next to Detta and sat down, looking at her with a concerned expression. Detta watched him, trying to read his expression, guess what he was going to tell her but she was coming up with nothing. She almost feared that he was going to fire her.

“Talk to me, Detta. How have you been?” She was taken aback and caught quite off guard. She stumbled around her words, unsure of what to say. Max read her face clearly. “It’s just, you’ve seemed so busy and the accident, I just wanted to know you’re doing okay.” She let out an audible sigh of relief and Max chuckled. “What? Afraid that I was going to fire you?”

Detta laughed nervously. “Me and my pessimistic mind…you never know.”

Max shook his head. “Don’t worry. I’m not letting you go anytime soon. So, how are you? This is the first time we’ve been able to sit and talk in a while. Rap with me.”

Detta laughed heartily at Max’s attempt to be cool and couldn’t help but be endeared. “I’m doing okay. I’m pretty much healed, the job here’s going good, wish I could say the same for the paper but you can’t have everything, right?” Detta absently touched the small scar that had formed at her temple. The large bruise was now gone but she always gravitated to that one spot whenever she became anxious. She guessed it was a point of weakness. The scar on her leg she could cover, but not this. It was there for everyone to see, screaming that she had been battered.

“Have the police found anything on the guy?”

“Mmm, no. They found the truck a couple weeks later but they couldn’t trace it to anyone and no one that was nearby remembers seeing anything. It’s strange. You would think someone would have seen the guy charging out of there.”

“Maybe not that early, or late, I should say. Those nightmares, did they stop?”

“Oh, yeah. Those didn’t last very long at all. The first couple nights following it but that’s about it. I think I’ve blocked a lot of it out. Not really willing to unblock it either.”

Max nodded in agreement. “I don’t blame you. What about your editor—”

Detta put up her hand to stop him. “I’ve had to deal with that man enough lately. I really don’t want to rehash it, if you don’t mind. I’m on a bit of an up and I don’t really want to come down.”

“No problem. So, show me what you’ve got.”

****

vVv

Maria and Detta left the video store around midnight and made their way to the boardwalk, dodging around people, Maria holding steady to Detta’s wrist, making sure she wouldn’t lose her. The club itself was set back in a side alley parallel to the boardwalk. It looked like nothing more than a hole in the wall with a guard outside. Maria saw the look of apprehension on Detta’s face and pushed her forward.

“Trust me, you’ll like it. Don’t let the outside fool you.”

They presented their IDs at the door and the bouncer pushed it open after verifying their ages. Loud thumping and ambient noise greeted them as they walked into a darkened hallway. When they emerged in what Detta took to be the dance and bar area, her senses were affronted with strobe lights, black lights, lights of all different colors, what she could only guess were hundreds of people murmuring over the music, and the smell of cigarette smoke. The girls headed straight for the bar and Detta was pleased that here she was able to order her dirty martini, extra dirt with two olives.

“Fancy drink!” Maria yelled over the music, taking her beer from the bartender. “Over here!”

Maria grabbed her hand and pulled her over to an empty table set along the wall. They were booths situated in a half circle and looked to be stuffed with clouds. Detta sank into the cushion as she sat, trying to make herself comfortable. She people-watched while she consumed her drink. There was no one in this club over Detta’s age. If there were, they certainly didn’t look it. There were quite a few Madonna girls, some valley girls, guys with their Members Only jackets. Some with mohawks and others looking like they were just dragged off of the beach. Her and Maria chatted until Maria noticed something that Detta did not.

“Look who just showed up,” she said, a sly smirk spread across her face as she nodded in the direction of the bar.

It took Detta a few seconds to actually find what Maria was talking about but once she did, her heart stopped. The boys had just walked in, looking cool and suave, scoping the scene and getting their drinks. For Detta, it was bittersweet to see them. She enjoyed the company of Dwayne and Paul, and especially Marko, but she could do without David. Every time he looked at her, he seemed to be penetrating her soul, looking for something, some kind of weakness that he could use to his advantage. She was always on edge around him, constantly feeling the need to look over her shoulder for fear that he would sooner run a knife through her back than be nice to her.

It wasn’t long before they were spotted, by David of all people. He gave Detta a smug look before leaning on the bar to alert the other boys.

“Looks like someone’s being stalked.” Maria had leaned over to Detta.

She looked at her. “What do you mean?”

“They’re drawn to you, aren’t they? They like to harass you in the store.”

“I could say the same for you! I’m not the only one that works there.”

“Yeah, but they don’t come to see me in the hospital.”

Detta blushed and drank the last of her martini and watched as the group walked over to them. “When was the last time you were there?”

Maria gave her a sarcastic look before mumbling, “Dark-haired one’s mine.”

“Dwayne,” Detta whispered back.

Maria shot her an ‘I told you so’ look and was about to say something when the boys had reached their table. Dwayne slid into the booth next to Maria and placed a bottle of beer in front of her. She was watching as Maria giggled, turning into a rather blushing girl, something Detta hadn’t seen before when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a glass being placed in front of her. Another martini, exactly the way she liked it. She removed the olives from the empty glass and placed them in the full one, looking up as she did. Marko was making his way next to her, a grin on his face. Detta mouthed the word ‘hi’ as he sat down, both kind of unsure as to whether the other wanted a kiss hello or not.

“This place had dirt,” David said as he pulled up a chair, breaking the tension between Detta and Marko.

Detta raised her glass in a sort of mock toast to David and took a sip.

“They don’t really put dirt in that, do they?” Paul asked as he sat on a backwards chair.

Detta nearly spit out her sip but managed it back down with a laugh. “No, Paul,” she said, trying to catch her breath. “The dirt is olive juice.”

Paul scrunched his face in disgust as he took a swig from his beer bottle. “Too much for me. I like it simple,” he said, raising his glass to her.

Detta raised her eyebrows in acknowledgement and looked back over at Maria and Dwayne. Her momentary lapse into giddy-girl land had faded and she had returned to her normal tone of voice, talking animatedly to Dwayne about a movie she’d seen. He, of course, remained silent but looked involved in the conversation nonetheless.

“You really should stop disappearing like you do. You’re going to force me to hunt you down and keep you where you can’t run away,” Marko whispered into her ear, his breath sending chills down her spine.

She looked over at him, his face only inches from her own. She could get lost in his eyes. His arm rested on the top of the booth behind her and he had a grin on his face. “Yell at my editor. He’s the one that makes me disappear.”

“He’s causing you problems.” It wasn’t a question.

“Always has.”

Detta smirked and tried to fight back a laugh. Marko noticed. “What?”

She waved her hand. “No, nothing. You probably wouldn’t answer anyway.”

He leaned in, his lips brushing against her ear. “I’ll answer any question you ask.”

Detta leaned back, closing in on his ear with her mouth. “Tell me a secret.”

She expected him to laugh but he didn’t. He just leaned in close enough for her to hear. “I love the night.” Detta smiled. “It’s the time of day I feel alive, strong, invincible. Darkness hides many things but in that mystery I thrive. I’m warmed by the night like the sun warms you during the day.”

Detta’s brow furrowed as Marko spoke. She had never heard him speak like that before. She wished she could say he was pouring his heart out to her but really it was nothing more than a drip. His words encapsulated her, wrapped around her like a barrier, shutting out everything except himself and her. She felt behind each word he spoke lay 1,000 more just waiting to get out. This wasn’t even a scratch on the surface for Marko. This was just a red mark on some dry skin that had already begun to fade. She stared at his mouth, watching the words flow out and when he was done, her eyes wandered up to meet his. They searched for more, craved it. He was elusive, she knew that but she wanted more.

Without even thinking, she muttered, “Tell me who you are.”

She thought her words were lost on the bass of the club but he heard her. There was no doubt about that. The fingers of his free hand danced over her knee that lay bent underneath her while she fiddled with the hem of his jacket. Detta jumped as Marko’s other hand reached up from behind her to brush some stray hair from her face. He smiled lightly at her reaction. Something was boiling underneath the surface. Detta could feel it rising. It emanated from him like a powerful emotion. Surely other people had to feel it.

Marko was about to say something when he was cut off by David. “Looks like you’re healing,” he said with a snide smirk spreading across his face.

“You know, if it weren’t for that look of contempt I might be so inclined to think you actually give a shit.”

David only smirked but stood up quickly. “We need to get going. You coming?” He raised his eyebrows in the direction of the girls.

“Damn it. I can’t. I have somewhere to be in the morning,” Maria replied

“Bummer,” Detta heard Dwayne mumble.

Finding that odd, Detta took a look around at her surroundings and realized it was past last call. The lights on the dance floor had come on and half the club had cleared out. “I don’t—”

“You’re coming,” David said, not a hint of a question in his voice.

“I am, am I?”

“Yes you are!” Maria chimed in next to her. “You need to spend more time away from that house of yours. She stood up after Dwayne and looked down at her. “You’re going out. I won’t take no for an answer.”

“Listen to the girl,” Paul chirped in, swigging back the remnants in his beer bottle.

“Yes Mom, Dad. If you insist,” Detta said with a smirk.

Detta made to get up but Marko placed a hand on her knee, silently telling her to stay seated. She looked at him but he was looking up at David.

“We’ll meet you up there.”

David nodded and they headed out, Maria sticking closely to Dwayne.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, girl,” Maria called back to her.

Detta gave her a little wave and returned her look to Marko. He was still watching them walk out and didn’t turn to look as her until they left. She waited for him to speak but when he didn’t, she looked at him as if to say ‘well?’

He stared at her, his hand resting against her neck. “I haven’t seen you for days. I just wanted to look at you without—”

“Out. Come on, let’s go.”

“—interruptions.” Marko looked disturbed and turned his glare up to the bartender that was trying to clear their table. Detta grabbed her drink, not finished with it just yet.

“Club’s closing. You need to leave.”

Detta gulped down the last bit of her martini, leaving the olives behind, and whispered into Marko’s ear, “C’mon. Let’s go.”

He still looked angry but his face softened slightly when Detta spoke. He looked at her before sliding out of the booth, offering his hand to help her out.

****

vVv

The wind whipped through Detta’s hair as she clung to Marko’s body. The vibrations of his bike echoed through her, rippling tides through her skin. What would have hurt her damaged frame a few weeks ago no loner did so. They hurtled along the street, making hairpin turns and coming close to brushing cars. The closer they got to Hudson’s Bluff, the more Detta felt herself start to change. Her worries and her fears blew away on the wind; her precautions were tossed away to be drowned by the ocean below them. Something told her ‘yes, this is right.’ Her stomach knotted in anticipation of…what? She didn’t know.

Her grip loosened as Marko slowed his bike to a stop, dropping the kickstand so she could get off. As she did, another force overtook her, seized control of her mind, her body, her will. But she didn’t object. She didn’t want to. Something connected and she wasn’t going to break it.

Marko made to get up but Detta kept her hand on his shoulder and he eased back onto his seat. She slid her hand across his jacket and gripped onto the collar, straddling the seat in front of him, dropping her legs over his and resting her feet on the passenger blocks. Marko stared at her, expectant. She took his hand and placed it on her thigh, pushing it up underneath her dress, letting him rest it where he may. He didn’t need to have his other hand directed. He threw her dress back, exposing nearly all of her leg and ran his fingers up it, coming to a rest on her scar. He didn’t need to look at it but his finger followed the twist of skin that had been created there. The ocean wind blew hard against her bare skin and goose bumps ran through her body.

Marko ran his hands down her cold arms and brought them back down to her legs, pulling her closer. Detta moved her feet to rest on the seat behind him, wrapping her legs tightly around his body. His hands pressed hard into her skin, groping to be part of her. She brought her own hands up to his neck, digging her nails in. He closed his eyes and a moan escaped his lips. Before he could open them, Detta lunged, connecting her mouth to his. She let out her own moan which only made Marko grasp her tighter, trying to meld their bodies together. Their tongues danced around each other’s mouths, fighting for dominance. Marko’s hands were in her hair, tugging at it.

Detta let out a low snarl and dove deeper into Marko’s mouth before shifting her kiss to his jaw. She nipped at the bone before moving to his ear, breathing deeply and tugging at his earlobe with her teeth. He moaned louder, holding tight to her hair. She moved her mouth down his neck, flicking her tongue along the skin, teasing his jugular. She began biting, first softly then harder the more he moaned in pleasure. She wanted to taste him. She moved to the other side of his neck, attempting her devouring. The harder the bites, the louder Marko moaned. The harder he clawed at her skin, the closer she moved her body to his. He couldn’t help himself. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her head back. Detta’s teeth were barred and lust filled her eyes. Marko looked savage, his eyes wild, hungry for her. His gloved hand moved slowly up her neck, his thumb creeping over her chin and resting on her bottom lip. She flicked it with her tongue and he smiled a wicked, animalistic grin at her. The other exposed tips of his fingers found their way to her lips, teasing her. Detta’s breathing became heavier as Marko ran his other hand into her hair, holding her tightly.

He teased her and reveled in it, bringing his lips close enough to her’s that they brushed together but pulled back just far enough out of reach, he holding her head firm. Detta had enough. “Kiss me.”

He leaned closer, his lips nearly on top of her’s. “Is that what you want?” His smile was devilish.

“Yes,” Detta whispered, her voice carried the short distance by the wind.

She tried to kiss him but he held her head firm. “Are you sure?”

“Kiss me.”

He looked at her with hungry eyes. “My turn.”

He lunged at Detta, devouring her lips with his own, kissing her deeply. Something wasn’t right about him. Certainly wasn’t wrong but it wasn’t right either. She could feel the animal in him rising. He moved his mouth down to her neck, getting revenge for her nips and bites. He began lightly and listened to her moans, those that told him harder. He felt it in her body, this want in her. He tried not to bow down but he didn’t want to stop. He wanted to fulfill her wants, her needs, her desires. Her body screamed it: her moans, her hands thrown underneath his jacket, clawing at his skin, her back arching into him. Her body said ‘taste me.’

His tongue lingered on a spot on her neck and he lowered his teeth to it, nipping at first before making that bite she was screaming for. Detta half moaned, half screamed out her pleasure as Marko bit into her neck. She could feel her blood slowly dripping down her neck, reaching her collarbone. Marko lapped it up, flicking the tip of his tongue at her wound, following the trail of blood down to her shoulder. Detta put her hands underneath his chin and forced his face to her’s. He resisted for a moment before allowing her charge. She looked from his eyes to his mouth, his lips crimson from her blood, his teeth stained. She licked at his lips, cleaning him of herself before falling into his mouth once again, tasting her own blood on him. It was a desire she never knew she had but she wanted to taste him too.

“It’s not fair,” she whispered into his mouth, sneaking words in between kisses. “When am I going to taste you?” She licked more of her blood from his smiling lips.

He moved his hand up, cradling the side of her face. She had her own blood on her lips now, a look that Marko wasn’t in a state to resist. “Soon.”

He licked her lips briefly, removing the last traces of blood before kissing her again. Her hands on him, touching against his skin, was pleasure enough but this…she brought out the side of him that she shouldn’t see. Not yet. Marko felt a connection to her on levels he couldn’t even name. In this moment, they belonged to each other. He buried his face in her neck, teasing the wound that he made. Detta stroked the back of his head, feeling the blood trickle from her body.

She bent her head low, her lips to his ear. “Never stop.”

Marko lifted his head, keeping his face out of sight. “I never want to.” She could feel his breath on her ear. This time it was cold.

“Man, if I would of known, I would have stayed in the cave.” There was a moment’s silence and Detta could feel Marko lift his head. “Cut that out, man. Not now. Not here.”

Detta turned around and it was Paul but the look on his face was serious, solemn, and he was staring directly at Marko. She leaned back, trying to get a look at Marko’s face but he looked up at her, a smile on his lips, and kissed her, brushing hair off of her face with his finger. He didn’t need to say anything. His eyes spoke for him. Soon. It could mean so many things and Detta wanted them all, whatever they were.

She heard Paul’s footsteps walking down the stairs as Marko helped Detta off of the bike and then dismounted himself. He took her by the hand and led her down the stairs after him. They didn’t have sex but the pleasure she had felt was ten times that of any of her previous lovers had given her…combined. He was powerful. She felt it in every touch, every kiss, every bite. She reached her free hand to the spot where Marko bit her, expecting to find a wound but there was nothing. Her skin was smooth and undamaged. All that lay behind was a slight tint of red on her skin.


	12. The Intruder

Detta lazily opened her eyes to a heavy blackness hovering over her. She turned her head towards the window and could hardly see outside. Without the moon and the stars, the distinction between the sky and the trees was gone. Everything was black. She smelled smoke. Cigarettes. Did she leave a cigarette burning? She tried to lift herself up but it felt as if she was weighted down. She was able to muster enough energy to prop her shoulders up against the wall so she was able to see more than just the ceiling.

In the corner of her room, she saw something burning, but not on the floor. It was feet above it, this burning tip of what Detta guessed was a cigarette where the smell was coming from. She became aware of the moonlight now filtering in through her room. It allowed the curls of smoke to be seen in the darkness. Only that and the burning end of a cigarette was what Detta could see. She was scared. She felt it but at the same time she felt useless, defenseless. Someone was in her house and she couldn’t do anything about it. Had she been drugged? But when? It had been a few nights since the club and surely the drugs wouldn’t have lasted that long.

She tried to lift herself up more but it was in vain. A last long drag was made on the cigarette before she saw it fly off to the side. And then nothing. No movement from the darkened corner but someone was still there. She could feel eyes on her. She heard a rustling movement and then a head lunged into view. It was David but the face wasn’t his own. It was angular, severe, his eyes were a flaming orange-yellow and his teeth, his teeth were fangs. And he was laughing.

Detta tried to scream but nothing came out. A hoarse scratching sound oozed from her throat but her voice was nowhere to be found. He emerged from the darkness, letting the moonlight wash over him. His laughing stopped as he stood, glaring down at her with a hungry look, the same look she saw deep within Marko’s eyes but David’s were sinister. Marko didn’t look like he wanted to kill her, at least she thought.

David stepped towards her, his jacket moving slightly around his legs. Detta could feel her face contort in fear. She tried to scream again but she choked on her voice. Her body was paralyzed. Whatever little movement she had before was now gone as she watched David edge closer. She felt the bed sink as he placed a knee on it, climbing over her to rest his other leg on her opposite side, straddling her. Even if she were to regain her movement, she’d be powerless.

His hand, pale skin luminescent in the moonlight, reached for her throat, his nails clamping into her skin. Detta cried out in pain, or would have if she could. He lifted her up by her throat and she could feel the blood dripping down her back. He grabbed her throat with his other hand, bringing the blood-soaked one to his mouth, licking his fingers clean.

Her arms were lead. She was prey for the vampire in front of her and any means of a fight that could have been in her body was absent. She tried to lift her hand, her eyes looking down at it, willing it up, but it didn’t move. David wiped the remaining blood on the side of her face. She shivered but didn’t know if he could feel it or not. She barely did.

He sneered at her, shaking her to force her to look at him. “If Marko can’t finish the job, I will.”

Detta didn’t know what that meant but before she could think, David snarled, bared his fangs and lunged for her neck.

She finally found her voice, her strength returning to her body. She screamed and flailed at the sheets around her, batting away the air. Tangled, she fell from the bed and groped for the light, flicking it on its highest power. There was no one in her room but her. She reached her hand up to her neck and felt nothing, no wounds, no blood. The spot tingled slightly but that was it. Her bed was a wreck, the sheets torn from the mattress and she was covered in sweat, cold chills running through her body. She walked into the bathroom and turned on the light, catching a look at herself in the mirror. Her hair was matted to her head and her tanned skin was now unusually gray. It looked like she had been frightened half to death, and she had. It was one of the most realistic dreams she’d ever had.

She walked back to her room and stripped the bed, the sheets too damp to sleep in. She curled herself up in a blanket like a frightened child, turning the lamp off so she could attempt sleep. As she lay in the now normal darkness of her room, that squealing noise haunted her once again. It carried in on the wind outside, permeated the walls. With it came a mirthful voice laughing at her, digging itself into her soul and nesting. Detta pulled the blankets up over her head before eventually falling into a restless sleep.


	13. Guilty Pleasure

“I never noticed these before,” Marko said as he perused Detta’s bookshelf.

He couldn’t stay long and she had work to do herself but he wanted to see her. They were drawn to each other by some kind of magnetism, she unsure of what it was but he; he couldn’t tell if it was blood lust or something beyond that. Marko fed nightly but it always came back to Detta and his need to consume her. This was the first time in many years that he didn’t view a human purely as a food source. There was something about her that pulled him to her but he was hesitant, afraid of tearing her apart like the rest of his meals. He had already bitten her. He had to be careful but she was smart. She’d find out somehow.

Detta leaned in her chair to get a look at what he was talking about. When she noticed it was her six-foot bookshelf he was talking about, she laughed. “Kind of hard to miss. I’ve had it there since I moved in.”

Marko gave her a ‘you wiseass’ look. “I meant these,” he said as he pulled a book out of place. “Looks like something’s piqued your interest.”

Detta blushed when he saw that he had removed a book, one of many, on vampires. She quickly stood up, snatched the book from his hand and returned it to the shelf. “Guilty pleasure, I guess,” she said, looking at her feet.

“What’s the appeal?”

She looked up at him. “What do you mean?”

“What do you find so interesting about them?”

Detta shifted under his gaze. “The history, the mystery of it all. There are all these legends from all over the world. People of different cultures speaking of the undead and disappearing blood, people who couldn’t possibly be in contact with one another, all tell the same stories. It makes you wonder whether these monsters are widespread figments of the global imagination of if there’s truth to their words. These books are all research, not fiction.”

Marko crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall, mulling over the irony. “Do you think they’re monsters?”

“I—I don’t know. I guess it depends on what characterization you go with. They’re a species under the guise of human that need to feed to survive, just like the rest of us. We are the cows of the vampire world.” Marko chuckled. “But something’s there…”

He looked at her dropping face, trying to catch her eyes with his. “What?”

Detta rested a hand on a shelf. “Nothing. Just a dream…”

“Tell me…”

“Well, just like some humans like to play with their food, some vampires might like to do the same.” Marko’s brow furrowed, not quite understanding what she was saying. “It’s just a dream, I know, but it’s got me thinking…” Marko didn’t say anything, just waited for Detta to continue. She sighed heavily before carrying on. “I had this dream that David was a vampire. He was going to attack me. And he mentioned you—”

“What did he say?” Marko’s face almost looked angry.

“He said if you couldn’t finish the job then he would. When he went to bite me, I woke up. It felt so real. I looked like I had been drained, I was so pale. I wanted to fall back to sleep with the light on but thought I was being silly.” She laughed nervously.

Marko looked discontent, uneased. “I wouldn’t worry about it. It was just a dream.”

“I know,” she said, looking at him strangely. “It was just a rather intimidating dream.”

He sighed deeply and uncrossed his arms. “Maybe you should cut back on the folklore. You’re going to frighten yourself into insomnia,” Marko said gingerly.

Detta smiled. “Never bothered me before I moved here. Must be the town. Weird vibes coming from this town.”

He walked closer to her, smirking. “Do I give you weird vibes?”

“Yes.”

Marko looked shocked. “I do?”

Detta nodded. “I don’t know why. I have this small feeling I shouldn’t trust you.”

“But you do.”

“Only as far as I can throw you.”

He smiled, leaning in to her. “You must be pretty strong then.”

“Looks can be deceiving,” she whispered into his mouth.

“Very deceiving.”

He loved the taste of her lips, the blood coursing just underneath her skin, tinting them a subtle pink. He was deceiving her and she could sense something was not right with him. She was lucky not to have seen his face that night on the bluff, not only for her own sake but for his as well. He wanted to reveal himself to her on his own terms, not on David’s and not on accident. David needed to back off but he had his own agenda, a private one that neither him nor the other two boys knew. They could feel it coursing through their blood, their connection to him and he to them. But they all knew how to hide things from each other if they wanted to.

Detta backed away first, not wanting to start something they both knew they couldn’t finish tonight. But Marko wanted more. He returned his lips to her’s, kissing her ravenously. She laughed and lifted her head up, causing his mouth to travel down her jaw and onto her neck.

“What happened to not being able to stay long?”

He nipped at her skin. “Still hasn’t changed.” He ran his tongue up the length of her throat, ending on her chin.

Detta looked at him, a smile on her face. “Animal.”

“You have no idea,” Marko growled and kissed her again.

Detta giggled under the weight of his lips. Marko was the one to part this time and he walked towards the door but stopped short of opening it, hand on the doorknob. Detta looked after him and frowned. “What?”

He had to ask her. He had to know if she felt it too. He turned around and walked back to Detta, eyes intent. “Do you feel it?”

Detta looked up at him. She knew exactly what he was talking about but out of knee-jerk, she asked, “What ‘it’?”

Marko looked exasperated, hoping to not have to explain himself. “This…attraction, this…connection. It’s like a pull. I don’t know how to explain it. Like it’s…right, something that was supposed to happen…”

“Fate.”

“Yes. Puzzle pieces—”

“That fit together.”

“You do then.”

“I can feel you when you’re around. You make me empathetic, I guess,” Detta chuckled. “I don’t know. It runs deep.”

“Yeah, it does.” Marko nodded before walking over to Detta to give her a quick kiss. He looked into her eyes and saw it there, swimming in their depths, that feeling. It had lain stagnant within her, buried deep but it was starting to come forward. He was staring to draw it out. The only difference was he could control it in him, keep it away from her. But she was his open book.

Marko’s eyes spoke words that he needn’t say. Detta smiled lightly at him and he kissed her again, savoring the warmth of her lips before he turned to leave, this time walking out the door.

**vVv**

Detta returned from the store, walking into a very dark living room, the light over the kitchen sink was the only thing feeding her vision. She threw her keys on the table, reaching to turn on one of the table lamps, when it happened. It was a movement so sudden Detta didn’t even have a chance to react. She only saw it in her peripheral, her line of sight marred by the darkness. Something fluttered past her eyes. Before she even thought to look, she felt the pressure on her throat.

Her eyes widened and her hands shot up, groping for whatever was around her. She tried to scream but the pressure on her neck was too much, only gurgling escaped. The hands holding what Detta knew was some kind of cord had tightened their grip, pressing her body against the one standing firm behind her.

She gasped and sputtered for air as her arms flailed wildly, attempting to connect to the head that she knew was attached to the body behind her. She grabbed at a covering on the head and ripped it off, tossing it away from them. Tiny stars stared to explode in front of her eyes. She reached out again, trying to latch onto hair but she couldn’t reach. Her arms kept missing.

Detta felt the fight leaving her, her arms getting weaker. She feebly grabbed for the cord held firmly around her neck but couldn’t get her fingers under it. Her feet that dangled off the ground slowed their kicking as her body started to give up. The starbursts turned into a glorious sheen of white light before Detta’s mind shut down and the room was black once again.


	14. Connect the Dots

Detta could hear voices around her, murmurs that she couldn’t quite make out. She cracked her eyelids slightly, her vision hazy. She rolled her head over and a moan fought from her throat but it remained there. Her voice didn’t want to work and she had a lot of pain in her neck. Something was tickling her nose and she reached for it, trying to wrench it away.

“No, girl. You want to keep that in. No. Put your hands down. Stop. Someone help.”

She felt a set of hands holding down her own and another set readjusting whatever was in her nose. She tugged at her arms but they were held firm.

“Stop it.”

There were two different people in the room, one boy, one girl. They were the ones on top of her. But she thought she heard more voices. She opened her eyes wider this time, fighting the film that glazed over them. She could see fuzzy outlines of people. Her room wasn’t that bright, but she wanted her hand to rub her eyes.

“Le-let go. My eyes. Gi-give me my hands.”

Her voice was weak, hoarse, and she felt pressure when she talked and found it difficult to swallow. She rubbed her eyes when her hand was released. She rubbed away the haze, the lack of clarity that surrounded her. When her sight came into focus, Maria and Marko’s faces were hanging over her. She looked towards the foot of the bed and Dwayne and Paul were sitting in chairs. She didn’t see David.

“Am I alive?” Detta croaked.

“Wouldn’t be talkin’ to us if you weren’t. You gave us a scare. If it weren’t for Max—” It was Maria.

“Max?”

“Yeah, he found you.”

“I’m in the hospital.”

“She’s disoriented,” Dwayne spoke from the shadows. “Give her a minute.”

“What happened?” She sounded tired, with a horrible case of strep throat.

“We were hopin’ you’d tell us,” Maria began. “Max stopped by to drop off some work, found your door open and you unconscious and turning blue.”

Detta closed her eyes tightly, trying to remember what happened…when?

“When did this happen?”

“Last night,” Marko replied.

“I came home from the store. My house was dark. I tried to turn on the light and then something was around my neck.”

Detta reached her hand up, feeling the rope burn on her skin. It was sensitive to the touch.

“You didn’t see who?” Maria asked.

Detta shook her head.

“Marko,” Paul called to him and motioned for the door.

Marko placed his hand on Detta’s forehead, looking at her, reassuring her with his eyes, and was gone.

“How did they know?” Detta stretched her voice towards Maria.

“They were near the store when Max called. The blonde one…”

“Paul?”

“No, the other one.”

“David.”

“That’s it. He looked, I don’t know, satisfied and angry all at the same time. He rode off without the rest of them. He left again tonight too they said.”

“Someone’s trying to kill me, Maria.”

“You don’t think maybe it was a robber—”

“Maybe without the truck…is anything missing from my house?”

“Max said it looked pristine, like nothing else was touched.”

“Whoever it was was waiting for me in the dark. They knew exactly what they were doing.”

“Do you know who could be doing it? Who would want you dead?”

“Maybe. But I have an idea who the devil’s right hand man is.”


	15. Fight Fire with Fire

It was closing time at the Boardwalk but Detta knew they’d be somewhere. They had to be. They always were. She gently touched the markings on her neck, a fading reminder of her second near-death experience. She sneered at the thoughts running through her head but they all made sense. All of the dots connected and the arrow, in one way or another, pointed to David.

She neared the end of the boardwalk, by the carousel. She was right; they were there, David’s back to her. The other three saw her first, approaching like a raging bull, fury writ all over her face. Marko stumbled around his bike, trying to get to Detta before she did whatever she was going to do, but she had reached David before he had gotten to her. She grabbed him by the back of his coat and with all her might threw him back, causing him to stumble against the wall. She was lucky she had caught him off guard otherwise she knew he would have been immovable. Dwayne and Paul stepped up to David’s side while Marko clung to Detta trying to hold back the thrashing girl.

“What’s your part in it?” she screamed. “What is it?”

She flailed her arms as Marko tried to control her. “Detta, stop. Stop! Calm down!”

But she wasn’t hearing him. “Tell me!”

David burst through the boys and latched onto Detta’s neck with his gloved hand, looking around to see if anyone was nearby. “Let go,” he growled at Marko.

Detta flashed back to her dream and her anger began to mix with terror. In her head, she begged Marko to not let her go but he did and when she was released, David threw her against the wall. Detta let out a yelp of pain and slid down the brick, clustering herself on the pavement, breathing hard and glaring up at David. He crouched down in front of her, his cracking knees echoing out over the ocean.

“What makes you think I had anything to do with any of your attacks?” he asked smugly.

She sneered. “Because you were rather pissy every time I didn’t die. You dripped animosity all over me. It makes sense.”

David laughed. “Oh, Detta. The things people do for money, right? I mean, that’s how you got here, isn’t it?”

“I was bribed and blackmailed,” she snarled. “You should…n’t know that.” Her eyes widened. “He…you…”

“Why do you think you ended up in San Jose, you dumb bitch?” he said, shaking her. “Why do you think you conveniently ended up here, huh? I prefer to kill on my own territory.”

Detta was at a loss for words. She scrambled up, clutching on to the wall. After a moment, she finally found her voice. “He—he paid you…how?”

“He flew out here before you got here, your editor. Found me—”

“That’s who that guy was!” Paul broke in, his voice shocked.

David nodded. “I mean, I steal from my victims all the time but once in a blue moon does someone actually pay me to make a kill.” Detta’s jaw started trembling.

“David—” Dwayne started but didn’t know how to finish.

David looked at him and then back to Detta. “I had to make it look somewhat accidental. Couldn’t have you being found all bloodless. You were just another kill to me, Detta. Plain and simple. Things got mucked up when you and Marko started getting close but I figured he’d find someone else.”

Detta stood in shock, her breath catching in her throat, her eyes dancing from boy to boy and finally landing on Marko, her face filled with disgust and fear. “You all knew…”

“No, Detta, we didn’t. David—” Marko started but was interrupted by her.

“You—you reeled me in for him.”

“Detta, you’re not thinking—” Dwayne interjected.

“I am thinking!” she screamed. Her eyes fell upon Marko again, her lip trembling, tears welling in her eyes, her voice lowered to a whisper. “I was never safe.”

“Guess I should finish it now.”

Detta looked up at David as he spoke and when she saw his face, that same face from her dream, her lungs erupted in a blood-curdling scream. His eyes were on fire, his fangs descended and ready to tear into her flesh. He lunged but was caught by the three boys behind him. Detta didn’t hesitate. She broke into a run as fast as her legs could carry her and dodged into the labyrinth of alleys behind the boardwalk. She twisted and turned around the corners, getting herself lost, when something swooped down in front of her and pinned her against the wall. She closed her eyes tight and clawed at the face she knew was in front of her. She opened her mouth to scream but it was immediately covered with a leather-clad hand. David had caught her. She was going to die.

“Detta, stop it. It’s me. Stop!” The calm voice was growing steadily more frustrated.

A hand connected hard with the side of Detta’s face, causing her head to get thrown to the side, her hair whipping across her face. The shock of getting hit in such a manner froze her. She wasn’t quite sure how to react but brought her hand up to her cheek in a feeble attempt to stop the stinging.

“Will you just stop it and listen to me, god damn it! Listen to me!” The voice was shrieking, hands now gripping onto both of her arms.

She brought her face slowly around to meet the eyes of the man standing in front of her. She knew it couldn’t be David and when her eyes rested on the oceans filled with a slew of emotions, she knew it was Marko looking back at her. She just stared at him, her hand still covering her face.

“Are you listening?” he asked, raising his eyebrows to her.

Detta nodded.

“Me, Dwayne and Paul had no idea what David was up to. He told us nothing. That guy—”

“My editor,” Detta whispered, almost not believing it.

“Your editor, we saw him talking to David. We asked him but he said it was something to do with his bike. David isn’t the most…caring person so it wasn’t a big deal when he didn’t care about how you were doing. Do you hear me?”

Detta nodded. “But he’s not a person.” Detta’s voice was a harsh whisper.

Marko gave her a defeated look. “No.”

“He’s a vampire.”

Marko nodded.

“When I told you about my dream…”

“We can play funny games with human minds.”

“We…”

Marko nodded again. “Dwayne, Paul and—”

“You. Have you been playing—”

Marko cut her off before she finished her sentence and gave her a firm look. “No. I wanted to tell you on my own terms. Guess that moment’s gone.”

Detta’s eyes searched the area around her, hunting for a thought that only she could see. “That night on the bluff, when Paul—”

“He caught me just in time. I probably would have killed you. I have a tendency to get…carried away and I forget that you’re just a human.”

“Just a human…”

He saw the look on her face and rolled his eyes. “Oh get real, Detta. You’re a food source!”

She tried to break out of Marko’s grip but he held fast.

“Stop it. That’s the raw reality of it all, Detta. But there’s something else…with you. Something that would have made me regret killing you.”

“Is there?” She cocked an eyebrow at him, revealing her disdain.

“Yes,” he said matter-of-factly. “You feel it too. You know you do. And for me to regret a kill, let’s just say I haven’t done that yet.

“How old are you?”

“I was born in 1932—”

“Jesus—”

“And turned in 1954. Young by vampire standards.”

“You won’t hurt me.” Detta sounded like a little girl but the fear was draining from her body.

Marko shook his head. “Every dog still has instinct. That’s something I can’t promise. Not while you’re still human.”

“What works?”

He knew just what she was talking about. “Anything blessed. It could be a newspaper and if it’s blessed, I won’t be feeling too nice. Running water, like streams or a shower.”

“If I carry a cross…”

Marko smiled. “You’re not religious, Detta. It wouldn’t do anything. It would no sooner melt your hand than it would mine. A faith not your own won’t protect you.”

“And the others…”

Marko frowned. “David betrayed us. He’s betrayed you but that doesn’t matter. He’s going to have to answer to us and…He’ll have his hands full but I’d still be looking over my shoulder if I were you.”

Marko slackened his grip on Detta’s arms, knowing that she wasn’t going to be going anywhere. She looked assaulted, frazzled. Marko could see her brain mulling over the information she’d been given. Her life wasn’t safe but she felt protected nevertheless. She looked up at Marko’s face, a mixture of concern and disdain smothered it but when she looked into his eyes, she found herself staring back out. That self had all of the answers she wanted, but it wasn’t human. They both knew it. Detta was his food as long as she remained mortal, and food for the other boys as well. David also wanted to finish his mission and she’d never be the same around him. The only way to save her life was to give it up for a new one, one that Marko embraced all those years ago. But would he help her?

Detta put her hand on the side of his face, feeling the coolness of his skin against the heat of her own. He closed his eyes when she touched him, the feeling overpowering. “Show me who you are,” Detta whispered to him.

Marko sighed deeply, tap dancing around the idea in his mind until he conceded. When he opened his eyes, Detta gasped. They were the same flame color that David’s were, animalistic, angry. She hadn’t even noticed the changes in his face, his brow and cheeks much more angular and severe. Detta breathed heavily while Marko watched her, interest on his monstrous face. She brought her fingertips to his lips and they danced around on the skin. He knew what she wanted to see. He opened his mouth, revealing his descended fangs. Detta tried to stable her breathing, her heart beating furiously, pulsing blood through her body at warp speed. Marko sensed this and remained stoic, fighting his nature. She touched a finger to a fang, marveling at it before trailing her finger down its length.

Marko reached up and grabbed her hand, preventing her from moving it anymore. He wanted to tell her to stop, she was walking on a dangerous path, but at the same time the thought of her blood on his tongue was a temptation he didn’t want to stave off. Detta’s hand could move freely in Marko’s slackened grip and she continued her finger’s trip down his fang, coming to the point. Marko closed his eyes. She ran her finger along the razor’s edge of his tooth, slicing the skin. She winced at the pain but watched as the blood trickled out, mixing with the moisture in Marko’s mouth.

His eyes snapped open with the first taste of Detta’s blood. Hunger and lust coursed through his body as he threw his hands onto Detta’s waist, clinging to her body for support. His tongue found her wounded finger with ease and licked at the blood, drawing her body closer to his. She moved her wounded finger to his lips, smearing them with blood. He began to lick it off when another tongue joined his own. Detta lapped at her own blood in Marko’s mouth, his body crushing her own into the wall. He devoured her tongue, engulfing it with his mouth. He had never had blood like this before, this taste that made him want to tear at her body to get. She kissed him back as ravenously as she could but it was no match for the vampire that held her.

She broke her lips away, gasping for air, as Marko’s wandered down her neck. “Protect me.”

Marko stopped and brought his eyes up to meet her’s. He searched them, looking for her truth. Was this what she really wanted? He didn’t know how much longer he, or any of the guys, could be around her without killing her. He would be savage if they did. And he felt like he had found something that had been lost for eons and he wasn’t about to let it go. And neither was she.

Detta noticed his eyes were no longer the color of hell but back to their ocean blue, his face back to the soft boyish look that had originally roped her in. He studied her face for a moment before backing away and grabbing her hand.

“Let’s go.”

**vVv**

When Detta had her door unlocked, Marko threw it open and pinned Detta against the other side of it, slamming it shut. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs tightly around his body, squeezing hard enough to make any man choke, but not the vampire. Detta shimmied his jacket down his arms and he tossed it aside. She pulled his wife-beater over his head and he willingly let it go. Detta stared at his body, running her hands over his thin but sculpted frame. She maneuvered her hands behind her back, inching them closer to the zipper on her dress before slowly sliding it down. The material slackened before falling around her hips, trapped on her body until Marko decided to take it off. Marko took off his gloves and ran his fingers along her bare skin, looking for the first time at her exposed breasts. He cupped one in his hand before leaning his face to her’s for a kiss, the cold of his skin sending shivers throughout her body.

“Fuck me first before…” she whispered into his mouth as he teased her.

Marko shook his head, drawing himself back. “It’ll be too painful for you.”

Detta lifted herself off of the door, Marko now bearing her weight as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pressing her bare chest to his. “Please.”

Marko took a step and they were both up in the loft. It took Detta a moment to realize what had happened, for the dizziness to catch up with her. She stared wide-eyed at him, still clinging to his body.

He chuckled. “We’re fast.”

Detta threw him a devilish look. “I hope not.”

He picked the dress up over her head and tossed it into a corner as she kicked off her boots.

“You’re vulnerable right now,” he growled.

She pressed herself on top of him as he sat down on the edge of the bed, letting her straddle over his lap. “Why don’t you take advantage of it?”

In a flash, Marko had Detta flipped on to her back, he now in the dominant position. The room spun as it caught up to her, the movements too fast for her mortal head. He stood up and stepped out of his own boots and removed his pants, all the while staring hungrily at her body. Detta pushed herself back on the bed so he had to crawl to her, which he did, like a beast. He laid his naked body on top of her own again, a thin layer of silk keeping them apart. He kissed her lips, her neck, her breasts, each time sending shockwaves through her body. She knew now what that feeling was—his power, something that she now knew he possessed. He was so much stronger than her, in every sense of the word, every lustful touch he laid upon her rocked through her body like a gale, her moans running ahead of her. He wandered down her body, kissing her skin, his lips lingering just below her navel, a gentle kiss amidst savagery.

He slipped her panties off and returned his body to her’s, their faces even. He ran a hand along her hair as she moved a leg up the side of his body, the friction of their skin could have emitted sparks. Her eyes danced over his face, trying to read him. Apprehension.

“You’re hesitant,” she whispered.

He moved his head down, nipping at her earlobe and she palmed his back with both hands, trying to pull him closer. “I don’t want to hurt you,” he whispered back.

She brushed her other leg up his side, locking her ankles together at the small of his back. “Do you want me to beg?”

She felt the apprehension sinking from his body when he answered. “Yes.”

“Please,” she whispered.

“Louder.”

“Please!” Her voice was throaty and sounded like a low growl.

“Louder,” he snarled in her ear.

“Please, Marko!” she howled and he thrust into her.

Detta wailed when he entered her, a sensation that teetered precariously on the edge of pleasure and pain. She dug her nails into his back, he sliding his hands down to her ass, lifting her hips to meet his own. Every thrust shot this excruciating pleasure through her body, feeling like she was being torn apart from the inside but loved every second of it. Her screams were masked by moans covered by screams. The more she responded, the harder he thrust. She dug her nails harder into his back, feeling moisture condensing around the tips. She had drawn blood. His moans became louder and louder, wailing when she tore into his back. He lifted himself up, holding his body over her’s, his eyes flaming but his face remained human. She lifted her leg up, joining her hips with the rhythm of his own.

In another swift movement, he had rolled them over, Detta now straddling his lap and he sitting up to face her. Detta did the grinding his time, leaning back to feel him inside her. Marko moaned, feeling his way along Detta’s body. The pain of him echoed through her, feeling it on every inch of her being. Her soul felt shattered. After this, there was no more innocence. Marko held her close, his face showing signs of his eventual climax. Detta’s face was contorted in a mixture of the deepest pleasure and the most excruciating pain one could feel. Marko held her closer, guiding her hips. His moans became guttural, snarls, his voice rising from his throat. Detta was getting closer. Just hearing him was enough for her.

They finished together, his ecstasy shooting through her body like a thousand knives. She wailed, tears streaking down her face, holding tightly onto Marko. His hands were at her sides, his nails digging into her skin. The pain mixed into her pleasure, blood dripping down her waist. She looked at Marko as he reared his head back, exposing his vampire face; fangs glistened in the moonlight, and then threw his head at her neck, tearing into her skin.

It was pure anguish. Detta cried out as he bit in, her life flowing from her body and down her lover’s throat. She could feel the blood dripping over her shoulder, down her back, onto her breasts. She clamped onto his hair as he drank, careful not to move and cause any more pain. She felt her strength rapidly depleting, getting sucked away by the vampire in her bed, in her. Her hands slumped from his hair and he eased her head onto his shoulder, her shallow breathing bouncing back into her face.

He removed his fangs from her body, a hand gently placed on the back of her head. With her chest pressed against his, he could faintly feel her heart beating. She was still alive but barely. Detta rolled her eyes upward, trying to look at his face but not being able to move anymore than that. Marko brought his hand to his neck and tore into his flesh with his nail, creating a fissure in his skin, blood oozing up from within. His didn’t flow forth like Detta’s had. It pooled to the surface, filling the tear at his neck. It was just out of Detta’s reach.

“You must feed,” he said, looking down at her.

He dabbed the blood with his fingers and brushed it onto her lips. He slipped his finger in her mouth and deposited some of it onto her tongue.

“I will not be responsible for your death,” he whispered to her. “Take it.”

Detta’s tongue crawled out of her mouth to lick the blood from her lips. It was gorgeous. The colors that she saw she had never seen before. Everything was in sharper focus, the smell wafted up to her nose; she could feel Marko’s blood in his veins. Just as quickly as it came, it was gone. She tried to move her head closer to the taunting blood but couldn’t. What little strength it had given her wasn’t enough to sustain her.

“Help,” she croaked, goading Marko to move her head closer.

He gently nudged her along, touching her lips to his wound. “Take it.”

Detta licked at the wound, taking in more blood. All of the colors came back. She could see like it were day. What was shrouded in shadows before was now as clear as a piece of glass. She continued to lap at the blood, feeling her strength coming back to her. Marko was breathing heavily, his grip tightening on the back of Detta’s head. She was able to lift her arm up, place her hand on his back. She continued to drink and she was able to lift her head, then her body, able to carry her own weight again. She drank greedily from Marko, obsessed with his blood. He held her close, making sure she got her fill. She could feel her teeth descend, her fangs. She wanted more blood. She bit into him, making her own wound like he did to her. Marko cried out, his grip a frenzy in her hair. His strength would have hurt her before but now she felt invincible. She drank deeply of his blood, her appetite insatiable.

He wrenched her head back from his neck, a snarl on his vampiric face. Detta’s fangs were drawn, her face having angles that a supermodel would envy, a seductive yet grotesque look.

He sneered at her, his blood on her face. “Welcome back.”

He dove for her lips, their blood mixing together in their mouths. They both felt it; a connection completed. She felt him pulsing through her body, could hear his whispers without him speaking—she knew who he was now. They came together again, all of the pain she had felt before had turned to ecstasy, a pleasure she had never felt before. Her senses danced around her body, mingling with his own. It was overwhelming. They were part of each other now.

**vVv**

Detta stood in the bathroom watching the faucet as the water heat up when Marko rushed in, shutting it off. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” He plugged the sink and let the water run, letting it fill with warm water. He grabbed a towel, dipped it in and brought it to Detta’s naked body, letting the warmth drip over her. “Standing water. Always make sure it’s standing.”

“Why can’t it be running?” Detta closed her eyes, savoring the feeling of being bathed. She felt him shrug.

“Don’t know. But it burns.”

She opened her eyes and looked into the mirror above the sink. She wasn’t shocked or startled; it was just rather interesting to see herself transparent. Behind her where she knew Marko to be standing, stood nothing in the mirror and the towel seemed to be washing her of it’s own accord.

Marko saw the look on her face and smiled. She could feel it. She could feel everything he did, everything he felt, everything at all.

“You’re not a full vampire yet. You have to kill first before that happens. But you think your senses are strong now,” he spun her around to face him, his face cleaned of her blood, “just you wait.” He draped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her into him, kissing her. She felt him frown and pulled back.

“What is it?”

“It’s weird. I’ve never felt a kiss quite like yours. There’s something more there.”

“Is that bad?” she asked, her eyebrow raised.

“Nothing to do with you is bad,” he said, kissing her again.

“You’ve protected me,” she said, into his lips.

He murmured, placed a finger onto her forehead and walked into her bedroom, gathering his clothes. “You’re not out of the woods yet. David knows.”

“How—”

“Not now. I know you have a lot of questions but I don’t have a lot of time,” he motioned towards the window and the lightening sky. “Time is on your side now. Don’t be in such a rush. You’ll get all the answers you want but what you need now is patience.”

Marko put on his jacket as Detta wrapped a towel around her body. His fingers reached out and yanked it away, a smile beaming on his face.

“Don’t cover up.”

He stroked his fingers against her skin and she smiled, feeling that stroke in her toes.

“What about me?”

“The sun won’t hurt you, just make you sleep.”

He walked over to the window and drew the shades, then walked back over to her, picked her up and tossed her on the bed. She laughed as she bounced, enjoying the whooshing sensation in her stomach.

“Tonight.”

Detta nodded as Marko walked down the stairs and out the door. The impending sunrise loomed and Detta’s eyes began to get heavy. She was surprised at how quickly her internal clock had adjusted but it might have been the vampiric blood coursing through her veins that was telling her to sleep. She wrapped herself in the sheet, holding it up under her nose, inhaling the scent that Marko left behind, and lay her head down onto her pillow. Sleep danced happily on her mind. Through her closed eyelids she could see the first rays of sunrise sneak in through the shades but she drifted off long before the sun hauled itself over the horizon. The new half-vampire lay sedate and serene on her bed, her mind waiting for the coming night.


	16. Trading Up

Detta’s eyes fluttered open as the last rays of sun faded under the skyline. She rolled over and felt every fiber of her sheets rub against her, tickling her skin. As she sat up she noticed the pool of dried blood that was left behind on the sheets. She wrenched them off the bed only to find the mattress pad soaked as well. And, underneath that, blood had reached the mattress itself.

“Shit.”

She tossed the soiled sheets onto the floor and walked into the bathroom. The reflection looking back at her belonged to the same girl that had looked into the mirror yesterday, only transparent. The pattern on the shower curtain behind her danced across her skin, creating the false image of tattoos. She ran her fingers along her skin and felt bumps and dimples and follicles that she had never felt before. She stared more closely at her face—whatever spots or complexion issues she had were gone. Even through the transparency, her skin was flawless. All that remained was her tan and the scar from her accident. Her fingers slid over the whitened skin and she frowned.

“It runs too deep.”

She looked down at her leg and, indeed, that scar was still there as well.

“The healing only happens after…”

She grabbed a razor from the cabinet and broke apart the plastic, taking hold of the blade. Holding it to her arm, she dragged the blade across her skin, wincing only slightly. Her blood pooled in her wound, much like Marko’s had, and she put her mouth to it. The taste satisfied a craving. The blood no longer tasted metallic, like when she sucked on her finger after a paper cut. It tasted like an ice-cold glass of milk when you’re having a particularly strong craving for it. The taste was satisfying, like the best meal she had ever eaten.

She lifted her head and stared at he wound, blood no longer rising. She watched as the cut healed at rapid fire, sealing itself before her very eyes. What it left behind was…nothing. It looked as if she had never cut herself at all. Detta licked her lips, removing the last traces of blood before throwing on a dress and heading downstairs with her dirty laundry. Careful not to touch the water flowing into the washer, she threw the sheets in and walked off, a bottle of cleaner in her hand, ready to attack the mess upstairs.

The sounds of bikes floated to Detta on the wind long before a resounding knock boomed through the house. She winced at the noise, something resembling a sonic boom in her apartment. Her brain rattled in her skull as she walked down the stairs, feeling the comings-on of a headache. Throwing caution to the wind, Detta opened the door without checking first to see who it was.

“What’s the deal with knocking so loudly? My house isn’t that big.”

Detta smirked at Marko, Dwayne and Paul as she stepped aside to let them in.

“We didn’t, girl,” Paul answered. “You’ll get used to it though.” He plopped himself down on the couch and leaned in to the TV, flipping through the stations.

“I heard you guys hours ago. What took so long?”

“We had a…meeting,” Marko smirked. “David will be here shortly.”

Detta rolled her eyes.

“And Max.”

Detta’s head whipped around to face Dwayne, her eyes wide.

“Max, what does he…”

“Max is—” Marko shook his head at Paul, signaling him to keep quiet. “Better let him explain.”

“But Max, my neighbor? My boss? The video store guy?”

Marko grabbed Detta’s head and brought his face to her’s. “Patience!” He kissed her and smacked her ass before joining Paul on the couch.

Detta squeaked at the smack and placed herself in a chair, unsure of what to do with her own body for the time being.

The sounds of shoes tapping against the stone path wafted to Detta’s ears. They were here. She stood up and walked to the door but it flew open before she even had a chance to put her hand to the knob. David stormed into her house, blowing Detta by without so much as an acknowledgement and threw himself into the chair she was just sitting in.

She scowled after him. “Come right in, David! Make yourself at home!” she yelped sardonically.

She rolled her eyes back towards the door and a frustrated Max had just made his way to the threshold, pausing slightly to take in his surroundings before stepping inside.

“Hello, Detta,” he said, nodding to her as he walked by.

Detta closed the door behind him, leaning up against it and following him with her eyes. “Max, what’s—”

“Before we begin,” Max started, “we’re going to need a glass.” He nodded to the boys and Paul stood up, walking over to the kitchen.

“Second cabinet on the right,” Detta called after him.

Paul walked back in a moment later, a wine glass in his hand. He placed it on the table before reclaiming his seat on the couch.

“You’re going to want to sit down for this, Detta.”

Max motioned for her to take a seat next to Marko. He looked like an agitated father about to give a lecture.

“I believe David has some…things he wants to get off his chest,” Max said as Detta walked around the coffee table to take a seat.

She glared at David, waiting for him to open his mouth.

David fought the urge to speak, rolling his eyes all over the room, shifting in his seat, clearly uneasy under the glare of the others in the room. After a few minutes of resounding, albeit patient, silence, he finally began to speak, rolling his eyes over to Detta.

“Your editor approached me one night. I was alone when he did. The boys saw him at the end of our conversation. He said you’d be moving into the area soon. He cleared the way to put you here—”

“What do you mean, ‘cleared the way’?” Detta looked confused and she sat up straighter, trying to soak in David’s entire story.

David rolled his eyes again. “He made it so you contacted that agent, that he showed you those houses, took you to this one—”

“But how? I found that agent by chance—”

“You want to know, ask him!” he bellowed. “Now can I finish without anymore interruptions?”

Detta’s jaw tightened, her fists clenching. She inhaled deeply and motioned for him to continue.

He snarled and proceeded. “He told me to keep it quiet. So I did. I told no one. When I saw you in the video store, the pieces fell together with much more ease. When Max told us of his new hire, I didn’t tell him you wouldn’t be lasting long. The plan was going smoothly enough without any more speed bumps.”

Detta looked up at Max who was staring out the window. A vein in his temple gave a noticeable twitch. Max was clearly enraged about David not letting him in on his secret.

“It was easy enough to get these guys to harass the pretty new thing behind Max’s counter. But things took a rather uncomfortable turn when Marko started getting…attached.” David shifted in his chair. “It was hard enough what with Max seeing you as a daughter but with Marko…I was in two minds. Loyalty to my brother or loyalty to my contractor.”

Detta scoffed. “You’re pathetic. You’d turn on your own family for a pocketful of money?” She shook her head, her face looking like she smelled something awful. “You disgust me.”

“You know nothing of loyalty!” David jumped from his chair, causing the rest of the men to jump at him in turn. “Family always comes first!”

“So what was different this time, David, huh? Was the price right?”

Detta was on her feet now, Marko holding her by the arm, Max standing in front of David, and Paul and Dwayne on either side, faithful mediators.

David let out a maniacal laugh that felt like a stab to her heart. “Don’t you get it? You weren’t family! Before Marko turned you, you were just another meal. The amount of girls he…we all have lured in, maybe even felt something for, was fleeting. They were all dead in the end.”

She couldn’t figure out what stung more, being another notch in someone’s belt or being made aware of her lover’s romantic past. He’s been alive for so long of course it makes sense but it’s not something that anyone would want brought to light.

“It would have been an inconvenience for Max if you turned up dead but he would just hire someone else. Marko would have found another girl like he’s done every other time.” Detta winced and Marko looked at her. “This,” he motioned to her, “was just a different way for me to kill. And make some money off of it. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

Detta crossed her arms over her chest. “Did you even think to ask Marko where I stood on the meal scale, huh? Did you ever think that maybe this one time I was different from every other piece of meat he’s fucked?” Detta shrieked and this time Marko winced. “Who looks the fool now, David, huh? What are you going to tell my editor? I guess you could tell him I’m dead. I am, what is it, undead?”

“Not quite, Detta,” Max spoke. “There are a few things…but we’ll get to that in a minute. David?” Max sounded like a stern parent lecturing his child.

David smirked. Detta could see the wheels turning. “You scratch my back, I scratch your’s.”

“David, why in the hell should I do anything for you? You should be kissing my ass right now.”

He walked up to Detta, their noses brushing each other. “Just because you’re a vampire doesn’t mean you can’t die. Remember that.” Detta remained stoic, standing firm. David backed up and continued speaking. “You make your first kill on my terms and it’s over. Your editor thinks you’re dead. I’ll have a portion of my payment be the house so you can keep it.” Detta frowned and looked about to speak but David raised a hand to silence her. “He was going to sell the house after you died. So,” he cocked an eyebrow to her. “Do we have a deal?”

Detta looked over at the other boys who looked just as answerless as she did. She then looked up at Max for help. He looked at her, through her, and gave a short nod, signaling for her to accept. She looked back at David, a slight look of defeat on her face.

“Fine, deal,” Detta said grudgingly.

Detta reached out her hand for David to shake but he only chuckled, looking at her like one would an uninformed child.

“Vampires have a different way of sealing the deal. Runs a little deeper than a handshake. But I guess since a part of you is still human…”

David took her hand in his and shook it lightly, both staring each other down. Their finalization was broken when Max clapped his hand together.

“Now, it’s time to tie up some loose ends. Dwayne, we’ll need a knife.”

Dwayne walked into the kitchen and instinctively gravitated towards a drawer with the knives and pulled one out, a steak knife, and brought it back to the group, placing it on the table. He took his spot between Detta and David and looked stoically at Max, waiting for him to speak. She looked at Marko who was already staring at her, a smile hidden on his face. Now was not the time for affection of any kind. There was business to attend to.

Max looked around at the boys and then at Detta. “I guess you’ll want an explanation before your initiation, then?”


	17. Family Values

Confusion didn’t even begin to describe what Detta was feeling. Where did Max come into play in all of this? What was he doing here? What did he have to do with the boys? Was he…?

Detta felt a hand on her shoulder that gently pushed her down on to the couch. Her face looked pained, the comprehension just not coming to her. She rested her elbows on her knees and put her head in her hands, rubbing at her temples. She could feel a headache coming on.

“It’s not a headache,” Max broke through her thoughts, yanking that unspoken statement from her mind. He chuckled. “You won’t be getting headaches anymore, Detta. What you’re feeling, it’s just an overload. Too much information. Your brain now has the capacity to soak up so much more…you just need to figure out how to sort through it so the pressure doesn’t build like that. I’ve seen a few vampires go insane when they couldn’t.” He smirked and looked down at her.

“Max, what do you have to do with any of this? Her face was scrunched up, thoughts bouncing around inside her head like a game of Pong. She understood how one could be driven insane by such uncontrolled thoughts.

Max remained standing, the boys’ eyes intent upon him. “Now, you can’t have boys this young running around without any kind of guidance.” This statement rendered dirty looks from everyone except Paul, David looking the most mutinous. Max ignored their gazes, rolling his eyes to Detta. “I guess you could call me their father,” he said, shrugging his arms. “They’re my boys, bound to me by my blood and now…I have a daughter. From the moment I saw you, Detta, I felt the need to protect you. I could feel you being hunted, and you were. I looked at you like a daughter then but bringing you into the fold, it wasn’t something I thought of.” Detta leaned back on the couch, tugging at her lip, staring transfixed at Max. His gaze turned to Marko, anger creeping into his features. “You know the rules, Marko. Never without my permission. I don’t need you boys repopulating the planet.” Marko’s gaze didn’t budge from Max, his face stoic, without emotion. Max returned his eyes to Detta. “You’re lucky, Detta. If you were anyone else you’d be dead already. I’m still not sure about your abilities just yet but time will tell. If you can’t handle it, and not all can, you’ll die like the rest of them.”

Detta frowned and sat up, dropping her hand from her lip. “You’re a vampire,” she addressed to Max. He nodded. “You turned these boys.” He nodded again. “But you didn’t turn me. How can I be connected to you, this…daughter, if I’ve never tasted your blood?”

“We’re going to remedy that in a moment.”

“You don’t want me like you, do you?” Detta asked as she stood, looking Max in the eye.

His face dropped slightly and the boys looked from her to him, anxious for an answer. He rolled his eyes, looking anywhere but at her, prolonging the wait for as long as possible. “No Detta. I don’t. You weren’t ready but Marko’s already made that decision, hasn’t he?” Max glared at Marko.

Marko returned the look, his face devoid of emotion. He was going to retort. Detta could feel it rising inside him. She knew he shouldn’t but she wasn’t going to stop him. “Sometimes your rules need defying, Max. Even you’ve broken them over the years.”

It was a stab, a hit below the belt that filled the room with tension. She felt him flush but no color rose to his cheeks. He was nervous about what Max would do but he wouldn’t let him see it even though Max could dive into his mind like a pool.

Max turned to Marko, fury riddling his face. “As long as your maker is around, you will follow the rules issued to you.”

Marko motioned to Detta as if presenting her. “My defiance is standing right here, Max, looking you straight in the eye. The only way to fix it would be to kill her.” Detta’s head whipped around to look at Marko, shock on her face. “Do it, Max. Kill her. Follow your own rules. Kill her!” His voice was nearing a yell as he spoke to Max.

Marko didn’t do this often, if at all. She saw in him obedience, quiet solitude, never one to question anything. She kept coming to roadblocks in his psyche, ones she couldn’t get around, couldn’t feel him. He turned to her and shot her a look that screamed ‘stop.’ She quickly looked away from him and back to Max who looked angrier than she had ever seen him. He turned to her, his eyes a blazing orange, his fangs descended. He was going to kill her just to prove a point.

Detta shrieked as she backed up on the couch, unsure of where to go from there.

“Looks like we’re out a sister,” David’s smug voice rang over the crowd around her.

There wasn’t room enough in her head for her to react. All she saw was Max’s fury, his adamance at proving his point. He leaned towards her but quickly rescinded himself, his fangs retracting and his Nosferatu face returning to its human form. His eyes were the last pieces of evidence of his vampiric nature to fade away. Detta’s rapid, useless breathing began to subside as Max tucked away the Mr. Hyde side of himself. He looked defeated but hid it behind a smug façade. She heard a breathy whisper of ‘damn’ float to her ears, probably coming from David no less. Max straightened out his clothes and turned to Marko who, very briefly, let his defiant ‘I told you so’ smile shine through before Max quelled it.

“I’ll deal with you later, Marko. We have other matters to tend to now.” He rolled his eyes over to Detta before speaking again. “Under normal circumstances,” he quickly eyed Marko, “you wouldn’t know about me until after your first kill. The secret is too precious but, considering the factors: I’m your boss, your neighbor, the fact that Marko fed you without my permission,” his bitter tone quickly seeped through but receded just as fast, “it was impossible for me not to step in.” Max picked up the knife and ran it along his palm. He passed it along to David and picked up the glass, holding the wound over its opening and squeezing the blood out of his hand. Detta watched as blood dripped into the wine glass and this surge of hunger came over her, a lust for the blood being wrung out of the body in front of her. She breathed deeply, trying to control her urge.

David followed suit, followed by Dwayne, then Paul, the knife and the glass passing by Marko. She looked at him, the question written on her face but Max was the one that answered. “You have more than enough of Marko’s blood in you.” Max took the glass from Paul and held it out to Detta, his eyes telling her to take it. She did and looked to him, waiting for an explanation. “Our connection to each other is what makes us a family, a pack, a gang, whatever Hollywood is calling it today.” He waved his hand dismissively at the thought. “Marko cannot be your only connection. It’s not safe for us, for me. Drink that and you will be bound to these boys as brothers and me as a father.”

Detta’s eyes widened, a demented thought coming to her mind. “Brothers…” she started, looking towards Max with a raised eyebrow, a little anxious to go any further.

He returned her look and shook his head, hiding what could very well be a smirk. “A vampire’s sense of family is vastly different from that of a human’s. We share blood, yes, but there’s nothing…incestuous about it. We were born as humans from different parents and born into a new life with a common blood. Drink.”

Detta brought the glass to her lips, looking over the lip at the eyes boring into her. “That’s good. The last thing I want to do is fuck my brother,” she mumbled into the blood, feeling it slide down her throat, whetting her palate. Paul covered a laugh with a cough and Detta heard Marko clear his throat, pushing out the laugh that was forming there.

Detta smiled to herself as she felt the blood run it’s course through her body. With every step it took, it unlocked new doors for her to wander through, connections to those standing around her. Paul had a tune running through his head. Dwayne was thinking about his next kill. Max had too many thoughts running by to pinpoint any one and David, David was blank. She looked at him and saw the sly grin on his face. The thought of him blocking her ran through her head and he nodded slightly, reassuring that thought.

“Privacy,” Max’s voice rang out over them and Detta turned to face him, “is key. Our guards aren’t always up. Therefore it’s your job to turn away if you come across a thought you’re not supposed to know.” Max chuckled. “You’re not doing it purposely, of course, but you’re diving too deep. Stick to the shallow end unless you have permission. And you’ll want to close yourself off as well because we’ll be able to see everything running through that head of yours.”

Detta looked down and saw Max holding the knife out to her. She took the handle and looked up at him, puzzled. “The connection’s complete when we drink from you,” Max answered her.

She grabbed the glass and placed it on the table in front of her. She looked at the knife blade for a moment before running it along her palm like the others did. She clenched her fist, forcing the blood to flow from the wound and into the glass, the sight of her own blood making the hunger within her rise again.

“Fill it.” David was staring intently at her, throwing her orders.

Detta glared at him. Even after his confession, and their deal, she still didn’t trust him. Again, the glass was passed over Marko. She looked at him, a mixture of emotions controlling her face and they were all overwhelming, everything that was happening to her: Marko, David, finding out about Max, the pile was too high for her to see over.

“Picture yourself in a bubble,” Marko whispered to her.

But her reaction was too slow. Once the boys started drinking, the window into her soul began to open and visions of herself came pouring out, released to the minds of the boys around her, gravitating towards them. She closed her eyes and pictured herself behind a wall, a shield, contained in Marko’s bubble. The hundreds of voices talking in her head began to quiet, the images subsided and everything was silent again. She opened her eyes slowly and saw the eyes of the rest of the boys on her, the glass in Max’s hand empty.

He raised it in a mock toast to her. “Welcome to the family.” He placed the glass back on the table and started walking towards the door. “I’d love to stick around but I have work to do. Detta, just come in tomorrow night and we’ll finish that ad.”

“But—”

“The boys can answer any questions you may have. David?”

Detta started walking towards the door after Max when David grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her back to him, brining it up to his mouth and tearing into her skin with his teeth. She tried wrenching her arm away from him but he only clung tighter.

“Stop it!” she shrieked, looking to Max and then to Marko.

Marko shook his head slightly from side to side, telling her to stop fighting it. She looked back to Max who had one foot out the door.

“We need to get you turned. I can’t have a half vampire knowing about me. David will take you hunting.”

She heard the door click shut behind her but her eyes were focused on David drinking from her wrist. His eyes wandered up her arm and met her’s, seeing a sneering look of disdain on her face. He cleared her wrist of the remnants of blood and stood up. He removed the glove from his hand and pushed his sleeve up, offering his wrist to her. She looked to his arm, then up to his face, that same sneer etched firmly into her features.

He raised his eyebrows to her. “Finish the deal, Detta. This is how we shake hands.”

Detta looked over to Marko for reassurance and he gave her a quick nod, easing her tension.

“You don’t need Marko’s go-ahead.”

“When it comes to you, I need all the reinforcement I can get,” she sneered through clenched teeth before reaching for his wrist.

His veins pulsed out to her, begging her to sink her teeth in. And she did. She heard the razors in her mouth snap through his skin as his blood poured into her mouth. Her eyes closed as she drank, savoring every drop of his life as it danced over her tongue and tumbled down her throat. She could feel Marko. Seeing her feed stirred something in him, this want to drink from the same vein, lick the blood off her body but at the same time he was apprehensive, waiting for something to happen.

Detta felt a harsh tug on her hair as David yanked her from his arm, the wound still exposed, her fangs dripping blood.

“Enough.” He threw her head away from him and she stumbled. “I’m not your victim.”

Detta looked up at Marko as she righted herself from David’s shove, her vampire face gone, her human mouth covered in blood. He wanted so badly to taste that blood on her but now was not the time. His mind reveled in the thought of killing with her. He had made a vampire. It was his blood, for the most part, running through her veins. They had eternity now to rummage around their souls, searching for the base to this connection of theirs. His dark lover returned to him from the brink of death. She stood before him, searching him for answers to the infinite number of questions she had. Patience. One of the lessons of a life long lived. She’ll learn it too. It’s up to him to teach her. Max will blame her failure on him and if that happens he’ll be forced to kill her. It would be Max’s punishment for him. He would not fail, for her sake and for his.

“Let’s go. Time to make you immortal.”

Detta watched as David walked to the door and waited, tapping his finger gently on the doorknob. She looked back to Marko again.

“Go. We’ll be at the cave when you get back.”

Her brow furrowed. “I can’t come back here?”

Marko shook his head.

“Immortality doesn’t work if you turn to dust the day after you’re made,” David broke in.

Marko rolled his eyes at him. “Your house needs to be prepared, windows covered. We can do that later. For now you stay with us.”

“With you.” Her moment of weakness in front of the boys.

“With me.” And his.

“Lovely. I’m hungry. Let’s go.” David grabbed Detta’s wrist and pulled her out the door. She clamored onto his bike, not holding on nearly as tightly as she would to Marko, and they drove off into the darkness as it wrapped its arms around its new child.


	18. Take A Drink

Moments into the ride Detta realized she needn’t hold on to David as tightly as she thought. Her sense of balance and strength heightened, she merely had to grip onto the back of the seat as David wove the bike through the streets and to the semi-deserted boardwalk. They both dismounted and walked, Detta peering around the ghost town.

“Don’t you need people around in order to hunt?” she asked sarcastically.

He shot her an evil look then led her down the steps and onto the beach. The ocean breeze assaulted her skin and she could feel the sand through her boots. On the air, wafting towards her, was the scent of blood and alcohol. It was like smelling sugar cookies baking at Christmas. If Detta were a dog, she’d be salivating. She looked around her; the dark ocean vibrant, the stars brighter than she could ever imagine. She could see the nuts and bolts holding the roller coaster together even though she was hundreds of yards from it. The smell of smoke found its way to her nose and it was then that she could hear laughter and yells, bottles clanking together. There weren’t many people but she was craving and soon there would be even less.

She started walking towards the fire when she was wrenched back and underneath the boardwalk, pinned against one of the supports. Had she been human, she would have only been able to see black but now, everything was crystal clear. She could see the grains in the wooden poles ahead of her, the sand spread around her and David’s face, nose to nose with her own, his gloved hand resting on her neck, his other arm over her head.

“Get away from me,” she mumbled as she pushed his chest but he only returned with more force, more strength than she had and pinned her once again. She looked up into his eyes and snarled. “What do you want?”

David smirked and cocked his head to the side as if he were talking to a child. “You’re going to have to learn to close off that mind of your’s, Detta.”

“Really,” she said sardonically. “Max already mentioned that. Thanks.”

“You have to make it so it’s like blinking, second nature. Otherwise you leave yourself open.”

He moved his free hand to her waist, massaging the skin underneath her dress. She beat away his hand, her sneer deepening. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

David leaned his mouth to her ear, whispering, “I see you in your head, and Marko, and every other guy you’ve fucked. You look to be pretty good and your body, well, these eyes are like x-ray specs. I already know about that.”

“Let me go.” Detta struggled underneath David’s grasp but she hadn’t the strength that came with the years he had behind him. She was a fledging compared to him.

“You’ll never be let go, Detta. Not by me, not by any of the boys. We’re all curious for a taste. How about satisfying mine?”

He moved his hand down her side and to her leg, slowly creeping it up her dress, his lips brushing her neck, his hand still firm around her throat. Suddenly her maneuver on David her first night at the video store burst into her head. She grabbed the fingers of his wandering hand and twisted them, contorting his arm into what should have been a painful position. She wrapped her leg around his and kicked out his knee, causing him to fall into her. He released her neck, trying to steady himself. She shimmied herself out from under his weight on her and ran from underneath the boardwalk, out into the moonlight and gentle haze of the artificial lights above her. She stood firm, staring at David in the dark, poised for attack. He came stumbling out from the darkness, a smirk on his face. She should have kept running but it was futile now. He would catch her if she tried. She walked backwards as he walked towards her, she on alert. As soon as she was within arm’s reach, he threw his arm around her shoulders and brought her close to him in a half-hug as he directed their walk towards the bonfire.

“Every girl we’ve turned has failed that test until now.”

Detta stopped, shock filling her face. “Test? That was a test?” she shrieked.

David nodded. “Loyalty is very important amongst vampires, Detta. Letting a little slut into our midst could tear the group apart.”

“David, I thought you were going to rape me. If that’s what you do, why wouldn’t they fight it?”

He smirked. “It’s part of the package. We’re irresistible.”

Detta scoffed. “Don’t flatter yourself, buddy.”

He shook his head. “That’s not what I mean. We seduce. Sometimes it’s how we prey. And it’s an excellent means to weed out the victims from the hunters. If you weren’t seductive before, you are now or you will be once you kill. Maybe it’s pheromones. I don’t know. Sometimes it’s easier to just turn it on and let your food come to you.”

“You guys did that to me.” She frowned, looking up at David. “You ‘turned it on’ and I fell into your lap.”

David’s laugh echoed over the ocean. “Don’t be so melodramatic. We didn’t need it. You wouldn’t have been susceptible anyway, from what I just saw. Besides, Marko went to you, remember? And you resisted.”

“But not for long.”

“Long enough. Now shut up and lets eat.” David released her shoulders and walked ahead of her, surveying the scene. After a moment, he turned to her. “Take any of them but the girl is mine. Lets see how you approach this.”

Detta looked off at the bonfire, seeing the same picture David had: three boys and one girl sitting around the fire. She looked back to David but he was gone and that screeching filled the air. She looked up to see him soaring above her. The sight took her breath away but now she knew where that screech had come from. It was the boys when they flew. Flew? They can fly. Can she fly? She hadn’t the faintest idea how to go about it but when she looked up, David, in full vampire form, pointed to the bonfire. She had no choice but to go by foot.

She walked quickly to the fire and could see the people gathered around it more clearly than before. All except the girl were drunk and before she could come within their sight, one of the boys wandered away, presumably to take a piss. And he did. Into the ocean. Detta swallowed the disgusted look she knew had found it’s way to her face and once she knew the boy was finished, she started walking towards him. How should she do this? Should she seduce him? Or just attack? She would let her body decide.

The boy spun around, his face riddled with drunkenness, his eyes mere slits. He tried speaking but the words merely came out as slurs that Detta didn’t care to decipher. She walked up to him and grabbed the beer bottle from his hand, tossing it aside. She grabbed onto his shirt to steady him, hardly being able to stand up on his own. Screams began to echo from the fire and the boy she was holding, no more than twenty, sobered remarkably fast. Both he and Detta looked toward the scene and they both saw blood spurting every which way. The boy tried to run but Detta held firm, surprised at her own strength. The boy looked back at her and what he saw was not her original face but that of a hungry vampire. She could feel her eyes burning, knowing they were that same fire-red color she had seen in Marko and David’s eyes.

She snarled and threw her face into the boy’s neck, ripping away his skin with her teeth. He flailed and screamed, slapping at her, trying to get her away but her grip was like a vise. Her teeth latched on to his neck as his life flowed into her body. His heart was pumping madly, forcing more blood out of his body than he wanted to give up. Within moments his arms fell, his wails stopped and he lay limp in her arms. His heart beat slower and slower and when it beat its final tick, Detta released her mouth from the wound and let the body drop to the ground.

She was breathing heavily; feeling the changes her body was finishing. If she had a soul, if it existed, then she just felt it die. Every human emotion she had, especially for humans, died with it. The memories of what once was her family, her birth parents, her brothers, her sister, faded away to be replaced with her new brothers, her new lover, her new father. Vampiric emotions replaced human ones, overshadowed them with a power that left the human side of her in the dark. She had a bond to her family; she felt love for Marko that quashed what she had felt before. Love?

She could feel the wind the ships at sea created. She could feel the anger brewed by the lover’s quarrel in Oregon. She could feel Marko smile, knowing she had completed her transformation. She looked down at her chest and saw the blood. She wiped it up with her fingers and brought them to her mouth, savoring the taste like a filet mignon. The pounding of feet on sand wrenched her from her euphoria as the girl came running towards her. She must have seen the blood on Detta’s face and her friend slumped at her feet because she screamed and changed course. Detta pivoted after her and grasped her frail figure in her arms; the dainty girl was no match for the vampire holding her.

“She’s mine.”

The girl continued to scream and Detta was forced to put a hand over her mouth to silence her. David’s words carried like a yell on the wind when, instead, he had merely spoken them.

“Then kill her, David! We can’t leave her alive.”

The girl was taller than Detta and even though she was stronger, the flailing girl was beginning to become difficult to hold on to. David grabbed the girl’s arm and Detta let go, knowing he had her.

“Quiet.” As David spoke, the girl silenced, as if her mute button had been pushed. She stopped trying to resist and stared into his eyes. “I won’t hurt you.” Detta mouthed the word ‘liar’ behind the girl’s back and David smirked at her then quickly returned his gaze to the girl. “Where are you sleeping tonight?”

The girl shrugged. “Here, I guess.”

She was transfixed, seemingly not seeing the carnage around her.

“You don’t want to go home?”

The girl shook her head. “Anything is better than there. Are you going to kill me?”

Detta could hear fear and, for the first time, she saw an endearing smile on David’s face.

“Come with me and I won’t.”

“No. I think I’ll stay here.” David stood up straight and frowned. “Not tonight. I’ll be here tomorrow. I swear.”

Detta crossed her arms over her chest. “David?”

He flitted his gaze to Detta before returning it to the girl. “If you’re not, I will kill you. I’m a good hunter and I’ll find you wherever you may go.”

The girl flinched and Detta could feel her fear, smell it emanating from her pores.

“Tomorrow night. I’ll find you on the boardwalk.”

David shook his head. “No. I’ll find you.”

Detta bit back a scoff. Was what she was feeling right? Did this girl have a crush on David? She just saw him slaughter her friends and now she wants to fuck him. It then dawned on her. What she was seeing was his seduction turned to full throttle. She didn’t feel it before but now she could feel the pull. The girl was afraid and intrigued at the same time. Detta frowned, trying to comprehend the scene.

David walked up next to her and whispered, “Don’t try to understand.”

Detta rolled her eyes and smirked at the girl. She was looking at her, question marks in her eyes. “I’m not his girlfriend,” Detta reassured her. “Be thankful you didn’t end up like your friends. Especially since I’m still hungry.”

David chuckled, putting a hand on Detta’s shoulder. “Don’t mind her. She’s new.” David lowered his voice and whispered into Detta’s ear. “Say hello to my new toy. She won’t remember any of this tomorrow.”

Detta raised her eyebrow after him as he walked over to the girl.

“I’ll meet you at your bike,” she called after him. He raised his hand in recognition of her words and continued walking with the girl. Before she completely blocked him out, Detta heard him ask her what her name was.

“Star,” she replied in a strong yet floating voice.

End


End file.
